Courtship
by Murasaki Hana
Summary: After his 20th birthday, Itachi cannot conceal his growing need for a family, but where could a Missing-Nin like him find a woman that would accept his Courtship? It was just too bad that Sakura seemed to have caught his eyes and as an Uchiha, he wanted only the best. Story told in short chapters.
1. Prologue

Courtship

Edited 10.12.2015

_Prologue_

It really shouldn't surprise him, not at all.

He was, after all, only a man. And as a man, he did have the same urges as any other. He had kept them concealed until now, but after his 20th birthday a few weeks ago, it seemed almost impossible to do so anymore.

But as his now deceased clan's heir –even if their demise was by his hand- he still had more honor than those _other men._

The thought of a one night stand with a woman was against every fiber in his body.

His dear deceased mother did teach him better than that. He had been taught that women shouldn't be used that way and that the only woman he could indulge in was his own wife. His father did try to marry him off from a tender age of 13, but his mother stopped him, saying he was way too young. At that time he didn't even want to marry, saying that girls were icky and weak.

The irony, now he couldn't wait to marry and settle down.

It has been at least half a year now, looking at other men with wives at their sides, children following them, with envy in his dark eyes. He still remembered when his own family used to do the exact same thing, with him dutifully following behind them as they walked the busy districts of Konoha. How he longed to have that, a woman by his side and children looking up at him with adoration, not in fear like he was used to. He always did love children.

And his dear future wife, the only woman he would ever open up to, beside his dear mother. How he would adore her, the woman who would –hopefully- learn to love him as Itachi, not The Clan head or the killer, just Itachi.

His –hopefully- future lady would be courted properly.

His only –as if- problem was his Missing-Nin status. As he wasn't a regular citizen anywhere, it would be hard to find a woman that pleased him _and_ accepted his courting. The only village he could roam free was Amegakure, but women there were hardly to his tastes. As Uchiha, he wanted the best, and women in Rain were mostly plain and ordinary. Not something that would catch his attention.

If he had a woman besides him, she would have to be able to take care of herself on their travels, so a civilian wouldn't do either. And as he planned to marry the woman he courted, children would have to be thought of as well and he wasn't planning on raising his heirs on the road. It wasn't that he couldn't afford his own estate by now after all the S-class missions he had took, he just needed to find the right place where to build his envisioned family with his envisioned female and his envisioned children.

With a tired sigh, Itachi turned his head to look at the Hokage monument in the distance. His reason for traveling to Fire country was simple really. Women here were raised equally to men and they had their own will, something that Itachi appreciated in a woman. If he wanted someone submissive and vain, he could have looked anywhere.

Well, except Kirigakure. If the women there were anything like Kisame said they were, he rather stayed far away from Mist.

He didn't know if it was true what Kisame had told him of his younger days in his former home village. And to be honest, he'd rather not find out.

His plan was simple; he still had his Anbu equipment and mask. According to his Crow summons, their Anbu etiquette hasn't changed that much and they still had the same dress code. He could blend in just nicely and since Anbu were usually hiding their chakra, were in and out in long missions and very few knew their real identity… he had less worries of getting caught.

If he found someone interesting, he would observe, something he was rather good at. If the woman was to his liking, he would find a way to talk to her, get to know her… and possibly courting her.

Plan firmly in mind, he took a calming breath. He had a few days at least, with the mission their Leader had given him –one he bribed Kisame to do for him for sake- to get started.

With his Akatsuki cloak and ring hidden behind a Genjutsu tree, along his other equipment he wouldn't need in Konoha, he took the first cautious step towards his hopefully brighter future, his weasel mask firmly in place.

...

Prologue is out and now we know Itachis plan.

Stay tuned for the next chapter where Itachi finds himself in Konoha and meets our pink haired Medic.

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	2. Chapter 1 Dango

Chapter 1

Edited 10.12.2015

_Dango_

The first step through the gates was the hardest.

He couldn't help himself as he kept glancing left and right to ensure that no one was eying him suspiciously. Izumo and Kotetsu hardly lifted a hand in greeting as he passed them and that made him frown a little. The Jounin guards didn't question his presence, probably too used to the sight of Anbu at the gates. They didn't seem to know what a security risk that was.

That was fine with him, for now.

When he passed the gates and walked the main road of Konoha, the one that goes straight to the Hokage tower, he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. It has been too long since he had last walked freely and without any fearful glances. He was a pacifist by nature and contrast to popular belief, being feared bought him no pleasure at all.

After that faithful mission Danzo gave him 7 years ago, he hadn't had a place to call home. So it was no surprise that walking these familiar roads felt good to him. He tried to remind himself not to get used to the feeling.

This was not his home anymore, hadn't been in a long time.

With a sight he slowed his leisure pace to a stop after crossing the bridge. He looked left to see if his favorite dango shop was still there. Pleased to find that it was, indeed, still open, Itachi thought if he should indulge himself, just this once.

Coming quickly to the conclusion that yes, he was allowed to do so. It has been such a long time –five days, he had some in Ame before crossing the border- since he last had any dango. With this in mind, he walked towards the familiar shop with a small, but pleased grin behind his mask.

…

'_This has to be the most boring day of my life_!' Sakura, our pink haired medic, thought sulkily.

The weather was way too hot for training, Naruto was out on a mission with Sai and Tsunade pretty much threw her out of the hospital, saying that '_she worked way too much' _and telling her to '_let Shizune take care of things'_ for once. She wasn't too happy with that to say the least.

She wasn't there _that much_! It just seemed that whenever she tried to leave, a new patient came rushing in or someone needed her guidance in healing. After Tsunade gave her the responsibility to look after the hospital mostly on her own, Shizune was mostly helping the Hokage now days, Sakura hardly had any free time. Not that she was complaining, it was a huge honor and something to do.

Which she didn't have at the moment, might she add!

After noticing that she had nothing to do, Sakura tried to bother Kakashi. That didn't go too well, as the new Icha Icha "_Accident_" had just been published. She hardly got a word out of him and if she did, the sentence usually ended with a _giggle_. She didn't know if Kakashi did it on purpose to get rid of her, but damn if it wasn't effective!

'_How creepy is that,'_ Sakura thought with a shudder. There was seriously something wrong about adult men who _giggled_.

So, here she was, with nothing to do and bored out of her life.

Sakura was walking towards the main roads bridge, moaning every once in a while about her boring life, when she saw her favorite dango shop. They made the best sweets around Konoha and with a quiet hum she decided that dango was just what she needed at the moment.

Maybe after having some dango she would have the energy to train a little too, assuming that the weather cooled a little towards the evening. She could always train near the river in case she got too hot.

With her mind made up, she skipped towards the shop with a happy grin.

She always did love dango after all.

…

When Sakura opened the sliding door with a quiet tinkle from the wind chimes, she got the foreboding feeling of being watched. With a quick glance towards the back of the room, she noticed that it was only an Anbu that was looking her way. She sighed in relief and after that made her way to the smiling old woman. The woman smiled widely as she saw Sakura enter her shop, quickly beckoning Sakura to walk closer with her small, wrinkly hands

"Suzumi-san," Sakura greeted with a happy grin as she stopped at the counter.

"Sakura-Sensei, my, what a pleasant surprise!" the old woman exclaimed happily and took the younger girls hands in her own fragile ones.

"Is your back still bothering you? I can give you another session if it is," Sakura asked worriedly and patted Suzumis hands gently.

"Oh, no, after your last session, it has been much better," Suzumi said thankfully and with a last squeeze, released Sakuras hands. Sakura smiled, pleased that she had been of help.

"So, what can I get for you dear? Hanami dango as usual?" Suzumi asked grinning. She knew Sakuras weakness to dango, especially to hanami, and liked to tease her about it as often as she could.

Even though hanami dango was usually only served as a seasonal sweet, she kept it on her list mostly for Sakura. As a '_thank you'_ for healing her always sore back.

"And some green tea, please," Sakura said, not the least bit embarrassed about her sweet teeth.

With a smile, Suzumi gesture for her to sit while she waited, once again refusing Sakuras payment with a wave of her hand, she went to make her order.

Choosing to sit at the table that was next to where the Anbu was sitting, she crossed her hands and leaned on them as she waited her dango.

After a while she got curious and glanced to her right to look at the mysterious Anbu.

He was wearing the standard armor and the mask, but what drew her eyes was his –she was pretty sure it was a he- long black hair that was neatly pulled in a high ponytail. It looked really soft and she almost wished to run her fingers thought it to check its texture.

She always was jealous of men with thick and shiny hair.

Sakura was pretty sure she hadn't seen this Anbu before, at least the mask was new to her, but it escaped her mind when he turned his head to look slightly at her. She could almost sense his eyebrow going up in question, his dark eyes smirking at her from the holes in his mask. Embarrassed that she had been catch staring at him, she smiled awkwardly at him and turned quickly to look if Suzumi was ready yet.

No such luck.

The Anbu seemed to sense her displeasure as he chuckled quietly and pushed his half-finished plate towards her.

"Have some of mine," he said quietly, making Sakura look his way doubtfully, but not one to say 'no' to sweets, took one dango stick anyway with a shy _'thank you'_. After clearing her throat quietly, she looked his way again.

"I haven't seen you around before. I'm pretty sure I have healed every Anbu in Konoha at least once," Sakura said curiously and took a bite of her –previously his- dango.

Itachi smirked to himself; of course she hadn't seen him, or healed him.

"I have been on a… mission, for a while now. I don't usually spend much time in Konoha," well, that was an understatement; he would be captured in sight if he walked around Konoha in his Akatsuki cloak.

"Oh, well, that explains it," Sakura nodded to herself and finished her treat. "I am Sakura by the way." she said and looked longingly at the last dango on his plate. After the Anbu gestured her to go ahead, she did so happily, making him chuckle.

"It is a pleasure," he said and nodded at her, he wasn't one to forget his manners after all.

As Sakura looked at him expectantly, he guessed he should introduce himself. Good thing that he already had a false name in mind, it was simple and close to his own name, making it easy to remember and respond to naturally.

"I am called Tachi."

…

So, they finally met!

In the next chapter, Sakura goes to her training session and our "Tachi" sees her skills.

I wonder what he'll think (;

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	3. Chapter 2 Training

Chapter 2

Edited 10.12.2015

_Training_

Itachi had just sat down into the quiet corner of the dango shop with his dango as he heard the sliding door opening with the tingle from the chimes.

In walked a girl, with pink hair, who couldn't be older than 16. She seemed to freeze at his stare and looked quickly his way. The sight of his attire seemed to relax her slightly as she turner to greet the older woman, grinning widely. This false security everyone seemed to have at sight of Anbu was really starting to bother him.

"Suzumi-San," she said as she walked towards the counter. Suzumi seemed to brighten at the sight of the girl as she smiled widely.

"Sakura-Sensei, my, what a pleasant surprise!" Suzumi exclaimed.

'_Hn, so the girl is a medic,'_ Itachi thought to himself and lifted his mask to take a bite of his dango. A shame, medics were rarely any good at fighting, their main objective being that of healing and staying behind. His Lady would have to be able to protect herself as well as their future children. Surely this girl wouldn't be able to do so if she was _just a medic._

He jumped out of his thoughts when the girl sat at the table next to his, clearly curios of who he was, if her constant staring was anything to go by. She sure wasn't being too subtle about it either.

When she continued to stare, he turned his head slightly in her direction and lifted his brow, even though she couldn't see it, amused at her boldness. There weren't many who had the gills to stare at the Uchiha Itachi after all.

She seemed to take the hint as she blushed and smiled awkwardly at him, clearly embarrassed. She turned her head quickly away, clearly hoping that her dango would arrive and serve as a distraction.

She had no such luck.

Itachi could sense her displeasure and took pity on her, deciding to offer her the rest of his. It wasn't like he could eat it anyway as she sat so close to him and could see his face, if he did.

"Have some of mine," he offered quietly and pushed his plate towards her table. She looked his way, doubtfully, but seemed to be too fond of sweets as she quickly took some his offered dango with a 'thank you'. She cleared her throat and looked at him again.

"I haven't seen you around before. I'm pretty sure I have healed every Anbu in Konoha at least once," she said and took a bite of his dango.

Itachi smirked. Of course she hasn't. By the time he was in Anbu, she was still in Academy. He had already left the village before she was a Genin.

But he couldn't tell her that.

"I have been on a… mission, for a while now. I don't usually spend much time in Konoha," Itachi said. It was partly the truth; he was still Jiraiyas informant after all.

"Oh, well, that explains it," Sakura nodded to herself and finished her treat, seemingly enjoying herself if the quiet '_hmns_' were anything to go by.

"I am Sakura by the way," she introduced herself and seemed to look longingly at his plate. She sure had a sweet tooth, but who was he to judge as he lived mostly on dango these days.

Before his urge for a family, his only object in life was to wait for Sasuke to kill him. As he waited, not knowing what day would be his last; he indulged himself in dango as often as he could. But his greed for a family of his own, the only selfish decision in his so far very lonely life, changed his view about staying alive. But, unfortunately, his habit of eating mostly dango, remained.

With a tiny smile, he gestured for her to eat the rest and she did so, happily, drawing a chuckle out of him. Remembering her introduction, Itachi remembered his manners.

"It is a pleasure," he said and nodded at her.

As Sakura looked at him expectantly, he guessed he should introduce himself as well. Good thing that he already had a false name in mind, it was simple and close to his own name, making it easy to remember and respond naturally.

"I am called Tachi."

…

It took a while, but eventually Suzumi came out of the back room with Sakuras tea and Dango. But by this point, she had already emptied his plate. When she had her own plate, she tried to offer him some of it, but he declined politely.

"Are you sure Tachi-San? I pretty much ate all of yours," she said, clearly embarrassed about that fact.

"I'm sure, Sakura-San," he answered quietly and looked as she shrugged and enjoyed her dango. Even if Hanami dango was one of his favorites' as well, he didn't want to risk being recognized.

It didn't take her long to finish her dango and tea and when she did, she looked at him.

"Well, I should be going, I was supposed to train before going home for the night," Sakura said and stood up. She wiped her pants clean and smiled at him.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Tachi-San," Sakura said politely and bowed slightly. He returned her small bow with a nod of his head.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said truthfully and got up as well. It has been too many years since he last had a civil conversation like this. His honest answer seemed to brighten her smile into a grin.

With a last small bow in his way, she turned around and walked towards the door with him a few steps behind her. She was quick to disappear in to a quiet looking alley as he stood there and watched her go.

After a while he got curious and decided to follow her. He really wanted to know if this 'Sakura-San' had any real skill other than healing.

After quietly following her to a training ground, he himself sometimes used as a kid, his eyes were drawn to a stretching Sakura. She seemed to move with grace and her moves were smooth, almost fluid as she did her katas again and again. It seemed that she used similar katas as him.

'_This is highly unexpected,'_ Itachi thought as he looked around for a good spot to spy from.

After finding one, he silently made his way there and sat down on the tree branch to watch her train. It took her a while to finish her katas and when she did, Itachi thought she was done for today. He was almost getting up, the bitter taste of disappointment gathering in his mouth.

But it was when Sakura flew to a nearest tree with a mighty 'SHANNARO' and shattered it into a million tiny pieces, that his eyes flew right open.

The only word that came into his mind, as he watched her demolish the trees with fire and determination in her eyes, was '_beautiful'._

…

Aww, I think Itachi might be blushing in that tree he is hiding in! :D

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	4. Chapter 3 I Spy

Chapter 3

Edited 10.12.2015

_I Spy_

Sakura could admit that she was shoving of, but only a little!

After leaving the Dango Shop, she had this feeling she was being followed. At first she was on her guard, but after recognizing the presence as Tachi, she relaxed. She didn't let it show on her profile thought, she just kept walking calmly, like nothing was wrong.

Sakura walked leisurely towards her usual spot and did her stretches like any other day, not admitting that she did try and do them extra smoothly because of the audience. She knew these katas she was using were from the Uchiha clan, these were the ones she had spied from Sasuke when they were younger. She had practiced them, perfected them and even added a few of her own touches in hopes of getting Sasukes attention.

All in vain.

While she did her katas a few times, she kept trying to pinpoint Tachis presence. He was hiding in the trees, but she couldn't find the exact one. He wasn't Anbu for nothing it seemed.

'_I spy with my little eye,' _Sakura thought with humor.

Well, she could always 'persuade' for him to reveal himself. With that thought she flexed her gloved fingers and checked her chakra levels. She was almost at full capacity, probably because Tsunade sent her home before any major surgeries took place.

'_This is totally not showing of!'_ Sakura thought and with a final smirk-

"SHANNARO!" Sakura yelled her battle cry and flew towards the nearest tree. Tachi couldn't keep hiding if there weren't any trees to hide in.

After destroying a few trees around the clearing, she spotted a flash of black. With a smirk, Sakura flash stepped towards that tree. The trees he could hide in were getting fewer in number with every tree she splintered.

'_Got you now!_' she thought gleefully and shattered the tree. With a slightly feral grin, she watched as Tachi jumped out from his hiding place, clearly shocked that she found him so easily.

"Hello there Tachi-San," Sakura said smirking and flexed her fingers. Finally, she had herself a sparring partner. Her 'most-boring-day-ever-in-this-whole-universe' just turned out to be a tad bit more exiting.

…

This was highly unexpected.

He didn't mean to spar with the girl, only check if she had any real talent, but it seemed now that he didn't have much of a choice, as Sakura looked like she would attack at any given second. Her smirk reminded him of Kisames grin right before they started their spars.

"Sakura-San", Itachi greeted quietly and tensed slightly when Sakura grinned wider.

She didn't give him much time to prepare himself, as she flew towards him with her fist raised. After seeing firsthand what those fists could do, he didn't fancy the idea of getting hit. he did have some self-preservation left in him.

So with a quick roll to the left, he avoided the hit and flash stepped to the other side of the small clearing, that wasn't so small anymore, after Sakura cleared most of the trees.

What he didn't expect was the crater that her hit left behind.

'_Definitely avoid the fists,'_ he thought sourly and watched warily as Sakura got up and turned towards him. Itachi guessed that he would just have to give her the spar she wanted. There seemed to be no safe way of saying "no", as she seemed determined in using him as a moving target.

It might do him some good. It has been a while since he last had a friendly spar that didn't involve any dead bodies, or bleeding eyes in his case. So with a grin he took a defensive stance.

'_Let's see how well you do in Taijutsu,'_ he thought and waited for her to come at him.

He couldn't use his regular tactics with her, in fear that she would recognize him as an Uchiha, so his fire attacks were out of the picture, same as his most potent Genjutsu. He might have to avoid using his Sharingan as well.

He didn't have to wait long for Sakura to move.

She certainly wasn't at his level yet, but her skill in Taijutsu was potent enough to keep him on his toes as they sparred. And because he was not using his Sharingan in their spar, he didn't have that extra second to react, so he had to be on constant look out of her deadly fists.

But she did have potential, with the right training, she could become one of the greatest Kunoichi in Fire country. And he just might help her reach that goal, if she kept on surprising him. After all, he wouldn't mind training his future La-

'_Dodge_!' and he did, just in time.

"Almost had you there, Tachi-San!" Sakura yelled and grinned gleefully, making Itachi frown. He would clearly have to concentrate on the match and not his wandering thoughts.

So he did.

…

"Tachi-San! It's called only sparring for a reason," Sakura said and pouted from her spot on the ground. When she got no answer, she dropped her head back onto the ground.

After almost catching him off guard, Tachi seemed to take their match seriously –too seriously, in Sakuras opinion- and it didn't take her long to end up on her back in the grass. Where she had laid for a while now, her muscles screaming at her not to move.

So she didn't and continued to lay on the cool grass, breathing in the smell of grass and relaxing her muscles.

Itachi chuckled at her and walked closer to glance down at Sakura. She made quite a sight; her pink hair was fanned out around her head, eyes closed and chest rising, still rather quickly in his opinion, legs bare from those short shorts and cheeks flushed.

It would have made a lesser man gulp, but he was no lesser man.

"Sakura-Sa-", Itachi started, but stilled as he felt another presence enter the clearing. He tensed, old instincts kicking in.

"Sakura-Sensei!" the alarmed Chunin called and stopped near the pink haired girl. Sakura opened her eyes and lifted her head towards the panicking boy.

"What is it Kenji-Kun?" Sakura asked and got up from the ground. Kenji seemed to breathe a little easier now that he finally found her and it made her wonder how long he had looked for her.

"Anbu team got back from a mission and two of them are in critical condition. Shizune-Sama is almost out of Chakra and requested someone to fetch you," he explained and took a deep breathe in.

"It was Nejis team," Kenji whispered remorsefully, this got a gasp from Sakura. She glanced quickly at Tachi, who didn't seem to react to the news and turned her head to nod at Kenji. Tachi clearly wasn't from the same Anbu platoon then, he did seem a bit older than them after all.

"Thank you Kenji-Kun, I'll be there in a sec," Sakura said and Kenji smiled. After nodding to the Anbu standing near Sensei, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I'm sorry Tachi-San, it seems like our time has been cut short," Sakura said and smiled apologetically. She really needed to see if Neji was ok. She sure was glad that she didn't use that much Charka in their spar. Those Anbus lives could otherwise be in danger, there were awfully little of able medics in duty at the moment.

"It is fine, Sakura-San. We shall meet at a later date," Itachi said and the way he did, it didn't make it sound like it was a request either, which got a smile from Sakura.

'_Anbus and their arrogance,'_ she thought with a chuckle. Neji was the same way after all.

So, with a quick wave at Itachi, Sakura was gone in a swirl of pink petals.

…

Neji is injured? Oh no!

I sure hope he makes it!

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	5. Chapter 4 Maskless

Chapter 4

_Edited 10.12.2015_

_Maskless_

Itachi opened her window quietly and sneaked in without a sound. He found her sitting on her couch with a few candles burning and a scroll on her lap. What a perfect scene to finally make her his. The whole town was without electricity due to a thunder storm, so the lights were out for now, a perfect opportunity to strike.

After closing the window after him, to not let the rain get in, he walked to stand behind her relaxed form. He gave a quiet chuckle at her and smirked when she tensed.

She turned her head so quickly he was sure her neck might have snapped and stared at him.

"Tachi-Sa-," Sakura started but Itachi moved his finer to cover her lips gently.

"Call me Tachi," Itachi said and dragged his finger down to her chin, slightly parting her pouty lips in the proses, making her blush prettily.

"Tachi," she said shyly and smiled at him that sweet smile he so liked. He nodded, pleased, and reached out to push a few pink locks behind her ear. What an unique color she had, his Sakura.

"That is better," he said, approving her use of his name. The only name she would whisper so with a smile.

It wouldn't do for his Lady to address her future husband so formally. And that is what she would be, soon too, if it was up to him to decide. The thought of making her his made him smirk down at the blushing girl before him. His Sakura, he really liked the sound of that, his.

If only the way she said his name made him shiver in anticipation, he could only imagine what kissing her would do, among other things he wished to do. He would just have to find out.

"Tachi, what are you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission," Sakura asked and got up from her comfortable spot while scrolling her scroll up. She placed it away for a later –not that she would need it again, as he had something better in mind- hour and walked around the couch to stand before him as she waited for his answer.

With a quick wave of his hands, the candles fluttered out, making Sakura look at him in question. She couldn't really see as well as he in the dark, she didn't have eyes like his after all. What she didn't know was that that was the point.

She wouldn't recognize him, not even when he took his mask off. And that is what he was going to do. The only fact that told her his mask was on for now was his slightly muffled voice, nothing that wouldn't be corrected soon enough.

With quick fingers, he unclasped his mask and let it fall on to the sofa, making Sakura stare at him. Not that she could see him properly, she only saw the shape of his face.

"I finished it sooner than anticipated," he said, as if that explained everything, in his case it probably did.

"I… I can see that," she said in a daze as she stared at him in wonder. It was a common known fact that Anbus never removed their mask; their lives depended on the anonymity. This spoke volumes of his trust to Sakura, making her gulp.

Itachi smiled slightly at her, even though she couldn't see it and took a step closer to her, making her take one away from him. After a few steps from him and a few more from her, she noticed that he was leading her into a corner. She frowned at him, displeased about this fact and stood her ground. It's not like she could have taken another step anyway, as she was pretty much leaning against a wall at this point.

"What do you think you are doing? Why are you here?" Sakura asked sternly and crossed her arms, making Itachi chuckle at her. She sure had the backbone she would need as his wife and as the mother of their children. The thought of making those children made him smirk. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, his long bangs tickling her neck.

"I'm here for you, Sa-ku-ra."

Sakura jumped slightly at the feel of his warm breath on her ear and placed her hands on his chest to push him away. He wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pushed.

"Why?" Sakura asked skeptically and turned her head to look at him, or what little she could see and gave up on her tries to get him out of her personal space. Itachi chuckled and kissed her shoulder gently, his lips ghosting near her skin.

"Because I wanted to," he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and finished his sentence with another gentle kiss, this one aimed at her slender neck, making her tense up once again. He kissed his way up towards his price, while listening to her little gasps and moans; those marvelous sounds that were like music to his starving ears.

He kissed her slim shoulder, her swan like neck, smooth cheeks and closed eyelids that hid her beautiful emerald pools, not forgetting to place a kiss onto her small nose.

After reaching his destination he smirked in victory as she noticed how Sakura was breathing a lot heavier than usual.

"Mine," he said with a fierce whisper and claimed her lips -not missing his target even in the darkness of Sakuras apartment- that would soon be calling out his name in ecstasy. The thought made him groan into the kiss as he placed his arms around Sakura possessively, to pull her closer to his burning body.

'_Dango,_' he thought with humor as she tasted Sakura for the first time; the sweet taste of her making him want her that much more.

He grounded his burning arousal into her soft stomach and when she gasped, Itachi pushed his tongue into her mouth. Pushing against her tongue slightly and teasingly, he tried to goad a response out of her.

He almost came undone when he felt her small hands slide around his neck as she responded shyly to his kiss with a small moan, her tongue gently pushing against his. This was not enough for Itachi as he kissed her with the hunger of a dying man, angling her head for better access.

When he felt the need to breath and couldn't ignore it any longer, he kissed his way back to her neck.

"Ta… Tachi, I can't," she moaned and leaned into his kisses, her protests dying on her lips as she moaned from his attention.

"But I can," and with that, he bit into her slender neck, making her give out a pained gasp. He kissed the spot afterwards to soothe the sting. After he was pleased at the mark he left behind, he pulled away, which made her slide onto the ground, her knees way too shaky to support her weigh at this point.

"What are yo-," the sound of zipper opening made her stop right there, her wide eyes looked at him in fright. She could only watch as he pulled off his armor and shirt, all the while looking into her eyes with hunger. She could do nothing but watch as he disrobed from his gear.

She blushed deeply when his hand reached the zipper of his pants and with a smirk in her way, he called her closer to help him with his dilemma, the one that made his pants too tight at the moment.

"Sakura, come he–"

"**COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RASCALS!"**

Itachi opened his eyes and growled low.

It seemed like a punch of kids were in for a trouble after they got themselves catch by the yelling man, no doubt they had done some mischief to receive said cussing.

And here he thought that the hotel he chose for the night was in the quieter district of Konoha, it seems like he guessed wrong, or times had changed since his younger Anbu days. If he wanted a decent, undisrupted rest, he would have to relocate and soon.

Preferably for the next night, if possible.

In his opinion, he'd rather sleep in the trees in the woods near by the village as he usually did. Because this was not his idea of a good way to start ones day, not at all. At least not after such a pleasing dre-

"Shit."

He wasn't one to swear, but this situation called for it. After all, It's wasn't every day that a man like Uchiha Itachi has wet dreams of a girl with _pink_ hair.

...

Poor Itachi :D

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	6. Chapter 5 Proposals

Chapter 5

Edited 10.12.2015

_Proposals_

By the time Sakura could leave the hospital, it was already 8 am in the morning and her chakra levels were almost zero. It was hard to see in front of herself and her steps were almost drunken in her haste to go home, to sleep for a few days. Maybe wake up to eat once or twice and drink plenty, she didn't want to be dehydrated.

But her tired state wasn't without reason!

The reason for her drained state was the night long operation to save the injured Anbu team. Luckily, she with her team of medics were able to stabilize them all and now all they needed was a lot of rest and a few checkups later on to ensure that they were healthy enough to return to active duty.

Neji had been their captain and somehow the only one with less than minor injuries. He had been the one to bring his team back to Konoha, but by the time he reached the gates, he had run out of chakra. So, other than needing time to rest and replenish his chakra properly, he was fine.

He wasn't happy about the bed rest, but after Sakura threatened to ban his missions for a month, he was almost happy to stay in bed for the next few days. So after agreeing that if he was feeling up to it when she came back, in a few days if she was alive, he could go home to rest.

Sakura also let him know that his team would make it, but they would need more rest than him. After that, she bid him good night and left home.

'_To sleep,'_ Sakura thought with a lazy smile.

Finally seeing her home, the sight of it making her smile, she took out her keys from their hiding place to unlock the door. She always was bad at keeping the key with her, she already had to have the locks changed about 5 times while she lived on her own because she always ended up losing her keys.

She placed the key back under the stone near the door, in its proper place, and stepped into her home.

It had three bedrooms, the master bedroom one had its own bathroom, a good sized kitchen, living room with big windows and a back yard she used as a training ground.

The house was something her parents left behind after they passed away in a mission. It was a little too big for only one person to live in, hence the reason she shared it with Naruto and sometimes even Sai. They both had their own apartments, but especially Naruto mostly spent his time in her home. He had his own room too.

'_He should clean it a bit more often thought,'_ Sakura thought with a shudder.

The thought of Naruto made her wonder when he would be back. It was hard not to miss him; the house was way too quiet without Naruto. And compared to popular belief, he was a really good cook, probably because he had to look after himself all those years. And yes, he could cook things other than ramen.

With a tired sigh, she stepped inside and took off her shoes. Sakura walked up the stairs and towards her room, her bed was pretty much singing her name at this point. It didn't take her long to strip and she was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow.

...

When Sakura woke up, it was already well past noon and her stomach was growling for food, but at least half of her charka had recovered and the piercing headache was gone. She needed to eat something thought, if she didn't want it back.

With a groan she got up and took a quick shower. After brushing her teeth and hair, she looked for something to wear. She didn't have any shinobi duties today, so with a simple long sleeved, light green dress, she was good to go. She didn't need any weapons with her as long as she has her fists.

After walking down the stairs, she pulled on her boots and with a final look around, left to see if Neji was healthy enough to be released. She decided to get some danko on her way to the hospital and leave the grocery shopping for later.

Whit that thought, she locked the door and took off.

…

It took her thirty minutes to reach the hospital -with her danko of course- and with a quiet knock she entered the room Neji was resting in.

It didn't take her long to notice that they weren't alone and she smiled at the older man.

"Hiashi-Sama, what a pleasant surprise," she said and bowed slightly with a small smile, always one to be polite for older people. Hiashi nodded at her and turned to his nephew. There seemed to be a silent conversation between them, one that Sakura couldn't understand, but very little did she want to.

She was never one for the clan stuff.

"Neji, remember what we talked about," he said and with a nod at her way, left the room. Sakura looked at Neji in question.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I, Neji-San?" Sakura asked and walked towards his bed. Neji shook his heads and smiled at her gently.

"You did not, Sakura," the fact that he spoke to her so informally didn't escape her notice, but she decided to let it slip, for now. They had known each other for a long time and sometimes trained together, she even considered him a friend, but they never were _that_ close to each other.

At least she didn't think they were, they had never agreed to be on first name basis only.

"How are you feeling today, Neji-_San?" _Sakura asked and took his chart out, it gave her somewhat of a distraction from the constant look Neji was giving her.

It was making her eyes twitch.

"I am doing fine, but please, call me Neji," he said whit a small smile on his face. Sakura frowned at him and signed his chart.

"Very well… Neji," she said and gave the chart to him for his signature. He was rested enough to return home and she told him as much.

"You are free to go when you wish. I see that your uncle bought you clothes to wear," she said casually and took the chart from him after he signed it. She was already turning to leave when Nejis voice stopped her.

"Sakura, my uncle wishes for you to come over for a dinner at the compound, when you have the time," he said, straight to the point as usual. Sakura almost swallowed wrong and looked at him in question, that was unusual of the Hyūga head. They didn't usually invite outsiders unless it was important.

"Why?" she asked, skeptical, but Neji just shook his head.

"It is not my place to say," he said which made her sigh.

"When does he wish for me to come?" Sakura asked tiredly and leaned into the door frame. She was too tired for clan business, but it would be awfully rude to decline.

"If you are free this weekend, I shall pick you up around six," Neji said and with a sigh she agreed. It wasn't like she could decline the Hyūga head without sounding downright rude. So with that, she left him to change his clothes and made her way towards the lobby to drop of his chart and head home.

Groceries be damned.

…

What could Hiashi-Sama have in mind, hmmn…

Only one way to find out!

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	7. Chapter 6 Plans

Chapter 6

_Plans_

After his most unlikely dream, Itachi got ready for his day. After taking a shower and donning his Anbu armor, he pulled his hair up for a high ponytail.

His nightly vision left him feeling… agitated and he decided to make his way to the training grounds, to help ease rest of the tension that the cold shower couldn't remove. He was hoping that he would catch a sight of pink on his way there, even thought it was only 7 am.

As he walked the quiet streets of Konoha, he found his thoughts drifting to his dream. It has been a while since he had seen a dream like that, as he had not been interested in anyone. The medic was the first one to catch his attention since… ever.

He could not forget the way she was laying there, on the ground, sweat glistening on her skin as she panted from their spar. The image that was burned into his mind was most probably the reason for his dream. That and the way she treated him like a normal person, not someone who murdered his clan because the Elders told him to. Even thought that would probably change if she knew who he _really_ was.

The thought that he was affected to such a degree, from only a dream no less, was downright ridiculous. And to think that they only met just yesterday didn't help his case, not at all. He was pretty sure that the medic didn't think anything special about their _session_, she was most probably used to them by now. She seemed like a person to have many acquaintances to train with.

Whit a tired sigh he looked around the awakening streets of Konoha. All the other women that he saw walking around looked weak, ordinary and plain, none could catch his eyes the way the medic did, in such a short time too.

The thought that she would not look twice in his way as a potential partner irked him, but it was something that could be corrected soon enough. She seemed like someone that enjoyed the simple things in life, if her easygoing nature was anything to go by. She couldn't be too hard to woo, he was an Uchiha after all and they got what they wanted, when they wanted.

With this in mind, he smirked and made his way towards the training grounds.

…

After training the better part of the day, going over his katas and stretching properly, he decided to make his way towards the hospital, just in case he could catch a sight of pink. Looking around him, he noticed that the hospital seemed bigger than before he left the village, he wondered who was in charge of it now days.

His musings were cut short as the medic he was looking for stepped out of the main doors. She looked annoyed at something and there were dark circles around her eyes. He was reminded of the Anbu team that was injured; she must have been here all night. He wondered what she was doing here, as she seemed to be wearing civilian clothes today. The light green dress looked nice on her, he decided.

She hadn't noticed him yet, as he was standing in the shadows, so it left him time to observe.

Even though she looked tired and worn out, he still found her pleasing to the eye.

There wasn't any makeup on her face, Sakura didn't strike him as one to wear any and it pleased him. In his opinion, she didn't need it to look beautiful. He had always preferred more natural look anyway.

She had pulled her hair up in a messy bun, leaving a few locks to frame her face. He liked the look it gave her, it made her look… cute.

That made him frown, _cute _was not a word that he usually used. It sounded too _girly. _Beautiful he could deal with, but _cute_…

Stopping his inner battle about the correct word to describe her current look, he decided to confront Sakura about her weekend plans. If he had any luck, they could have another sparring session. It would give him a chance –_accidentally_ of course- to make her aware of his… desires.

The thought of them sparring and then ending up in the ground -with her under him- made him shiver. He would restrain her hands to keep her from hitting him with her deadly fists, maybe tie them up with her headband to free his hands for… other things. She would most probably try to squirm under him to free herself, but he would just have to push her to the ground with his chest and spread her legs to set himself between them. When he had her pinned properly, he could rub his arousal into her core to make her moan and lift his mask just enough to bite her ne-

Itachi almost grunted at the images running wild in his head. He really needed to stop now or pinky would find herself flat on her back. He would be inside of her warm body before Sakura had the time to gasp out his-

With a deep, calming breath, he looked at Sakura.

Just as he was going to step out of the shadows to greet her, a young looking medic ran towards her, screaming '_Sakura-Sama'_ in a high pitched voice_._

…

Sakura was slowly making her way towards her home as another younger medic stopped her. She tried to smile at the girl, but she was pretty sure her eye was twitching in annoyance. She really wanted to go home and get another 10 hours of sleep.

"Sakura-Sama! Shizune-Sama asked me to pass this to you before you left. She also said that she could cover you this weekend so you could rest", the girl said to Sakura and passed on the scroll she had been carrying.

"Thank you Maiko-San, I could use a little bit more rest after last night", Sakura said smiling and watched as the medic in training smirked, making Sakura frown, not liking the look she was getting.

"Did Neji-San tire you out again?" Maiko asked slyly and wiggled her eyebrows at her. A tiny blush rose on Sakuras cheeks as her frown deepened.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Sakura asked. For some reason, the whole hospital seemed to be under the impression that she and Neji were an item. She didn't know why, or how, they came to that conclusion. They hardly even spent any time together!

"Oh you see; I heard that Hiashi-Sama visited Neji and you. What did he want? Did he finally ask you to marry into the Hyūga clan?" Maiko asked a little bit too excitedly.

"Wh… what?" Sakura asked and looked at the girl like she just grew another head, or two.

"Oh you know! Neji has had a thing for you since forever!" Maiko exclaimed and smiled widely. Sakura sweat dropped and laughed awkwardly. Neji, as in Hyūga Neji, had a thing for HER, the plain old Sakura. What a joke!

"Right, erm, Maiko-San, sorry to disappoint you, but no one proposed anything today", except Neji who said that Hiashi-Sama asked her to join them for dinner at the-

Shit.

"Aww, I was so sure that he finally made a move on you", Maiko said and pouted.

Sakura hardly heard Maiko in her inner panic. Why did Hiashi-Sama ask her to join them at the compund? It didn't make any sense, unless what Maiko was saying was true. But why would they want HER to join into the Hyūga clan. It was the largest and strongest clan in Konoha and they were said to be really choosy about the people they transacted with, outside their clan, not to mention letting one of their own to marry someone _not_ Hyūga. They were known for wanting to keep their bloodline _pure_.

She hardly registered Maikos parting words and her wishes to have a '_relaxing weekend'_.

Relaxing her ass!

Her thoughts were swimming around the impending visit to the Hyūga compound. As it was Friday, Neji would most probably come and get her tomorrow evening, meaning that her happy single days were most probably over soon. How could she politely decline, if the Hyūga head told her to marry someone, most probably Neji.

She was almost hyperventilating by the time she saw her savior. Then an idea stuck her; wasn't it a good enough reason to decline dinner with the Hyūga head, if she was training with a _friend_? Even if said _friend_ didn't know it yet.

Oh, this was perfect!

She plastered a smile on her face and looked at Tachi.

"Are you free tomorrow? You are?_ Great_! See you at 2 pm, at the training grounds!" with her mission completed, she poofed away, not willing to take '_no'_ for an answer.

It wouldn't do for Tachi to ruin her plans about ruining the Hyūga heads plans about plans of making her marry Neji, who most probably had… plans.

Poor Itachi was left alone, not too sure about what just happened.

…

Oh my god…

41 reviews, 62 favorites and 138 followers!

I… really don't know what to say, you guys are amazing! :3

I never thought that my story would get so much readers, it amazes me every day!

It makes me want to write that much more when I know that there really are those that read my stories! (:

Really, thank you! (:

Chapters for Courtship will be about 1k words per chappie and I'll try to update once a week.

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	8. Chapter 7 Thoughts

Chapter 7

Edited 18.12.2015

_Thoughts_

When Sakura poofed into her bedroom, she could finally let out a tired sigh. Whit Hiashi-Samas invitation in mind and the sleep deprivation weighing her down, she decided to call it a day. A shower and her bed in mind, she set out to pull off her dress.

She still couldn't figure out why the Hyūga clan wanted to meet her so informally. Thoughts of the possible marriage proposal swimming in her mind kept leaving a sour taste in her mouth. It's not like there was something wrong with Neji, no, he was a nice enough man when you got under that rough shell of his, no, it was the fact that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

If Hiashi-Sama told her to marry Neji, then she would most probably have to marry Neji. Even if she was not happy about it.

But if worst came to worst and she would have to marry him, she would just try to make most out of it. Neji was a decent looking male, handsome even, and she was sure he could understand her need to stay as a Kunoichi, even after the wedding. He could, hopefully, understand her passion about her chosen career.

Or at least she hoped so, she could never be an ordinary house wife, or worse yet, a baby machine!

She very much enjoyed her life as the head medic of Konohas hospital, she did not want to give it up.

'_Argh, all this thinking is giving me a headache!'_ Sakura thought and stepped into her bathroom. Hot, relaxing shower sounded heavenly right about now!

She tried not to look into the mirror, knowing without looking that she had dark bags under her tired eyes.

The hot water did wonders to her tense form. As she stood under the warm water, she found herself relaxing. Her thoughts drifted to tomorrow. She would have to apologize to Tachi, she did leave him rather absurdly –and rudely- when she teleported home. Without even asking why he had looked her out!

That thought made her grinch, she sure hoped that it wasn't anything too important. But she guessed that he would just have to wait till tomorrow.

Sakura hoped he would show up. Yes, she needed him to avoid the Hyūgas and the visit to their compound, but she also enjoyed his quiet company.

Tachi was quiet, but polite, almost painfully so, as if he was raised with strict rules and discipline. He was strong, he had to be to be able to join Anbu, but also such a gentleman. Sakura couldn't say if he was handsome, as she hadn't seen his face, but he sure had the body to make up for the whole mask thing. Sakura could appreciate a good body when she saw one, she was a medic after all.

And Tachi seemed to enjoy his own share of sweets too. One did not order a plate full of danko if one did not enjoy them, deeply so.

A thought came into her mind as she remembered his sweet tooth and how he gave her most of his danko. That made her smile, no bad man would share his sweets with a girl. Maybe she could, as an apology, make some danko for him. She was pretty decent at making them, it was her favorite kind of dessert after all. That and she had her secret recipes.

Yes, she would make some danko for Tachi and make _damn _sure that it was the best _damn_ danko of his whole _damn_ life!

'_Shannaro!'_

…

After he was left standing there, rather rudely, might he add, he came to the conclusion that he would not see the pinkette until tomorrow. And he _would_ see her tomorrow, he had no intention of missing the chance to spend some time alone with her. At least not after he heard of the Hyūgas plans.

But he could see why they wanted the medic into their clan, the girl was a jewel among Kunoichis. She had them all; chakra control, inhuman strength, beauty, high position in the village _and _close relationship with the Hokage. All this, warped up in one slip of a woman, pink haired one at that.

Where ever she walked, people seemed to greet her with smiles or a 'thank you', most probably because she had healed them, or one of their loved ones, at some point.

It all made him wonder why the Hyūgas weren't on the move earlier. But it was too bad -for them-, as he had already decided to _at least_ court this Sakura. She was worthy and as an Uchiha, he wanted only the best.

And what an Uchiha wanted, Uchiha got.

With a smirk, he turned around to walk back to his hotel.

…

Saturday morning came way too early in Sakuras opinion. She tried to bury her head into her pillows, but somehow the persistent rays of light kept making their way to her puffy eyes.

Whit a groan of despair, Sakura threw away her covers –yes, she had more than one- and rolled out of her queen sized piece of heaven. She would have to get up if she wanted to have enough time to shop her groceries and make some danko for Tachi before her meeting with the said Anbu.

But if Sakura had one flaw, it was her morning crankiness. She was not, in any case, a morning person. She just couldn't start her day without at least one cup of coffee.

_'More like a cup of liquid gold,_' Sakura thought dreamily and made her way towards he kitchen that was located downstairs. She was wearing one of Narutos old shirts that the blond had outgrown and a pair of panties, those were hers; she wouldn't touch Narutos underwear even if her life depended on it, just no.

But as she was home alone, what she was wearing hardly mattered.

The first thing she did when she reached the kitchen, was to turn on her coffee maker. After that she turned to her fridge to see if she had anything for breakfast. She found a few eggs and some vegetables and decided those would just have to do for now. She had to visit the market stalls anyway to buy the ingredients for danko, might as well shop her groceries at the same time.

'_I wonder when Naruto comes home,'_ Sakura thought as she took her first cup of coffee. If they were in schedule, he should be home any day now. Maybe she should buy some ingredients for ramen while she was at it, it would make Narutos day.

'_That goof, even after all these years, he still hardly eats anything else,'_ Sakura thought with a smile.

After making a quick list of what she would need, she made her way upstairs to chance some clothes.

…

Sakura walked at the busy streets of Konoha, all the while humming happily. The coffee did wonders for her and she found her sour mood turning that into an exited one. She skipped from shop to shop, humming happily while she did so. She was waiting for the evening to arrive, her training session with Tachi lifting her spirits considerably.

She almost had everything she needed, the only thing she was missing was the ingredients for ramen.

Just as she saw the shop she would have to visit to buy those, her eyes catch a sight of white and brown. Whit a curse, she was going to dive into the masses, when Nejis eyes found hers. As he walked her way, she plastered a smile on her face.

"Sakura," Neji greeted with a small smirk.

"Neji-San, you should still be resting," Sakura said and frowned at him. He was up way too early for someone that was bed ridden just yesterday!

"It's Neji, Sakura," Neji said and frowned right back at her, choosing not to answer her scolding. Not that Sakura expected him to, annoying males and their pride.

"Neji… you should still be in bed," Sakura gave up, might as well use his name as he was so persistent about it. This seemed to made him smile softly, pleased.

"I was looking for you, you were not at your home earlier," he said and crossed his arms.

"You were? I have been shopping most part of the morning," Sakura said, surprised. Neji usually wasn't this determined when he was seeking her out, he usually just came back later to check if she was back yet.

"Uncle wished for you to join us this evening," Neji said.

'_Shit, that was not even a question!_' Sakura thought frantically. This avoiding thing would be a lot harder that she thought. Sakura gulped and hugged her groceries to her chest.

"Well, Neji, you see… I kind of promised Tachi that I would train with him today. I would hate to break that promise," Sakura said, trying to sound as regretful as possible.

Neji seemed surprised that her explanation didn't include Narutos name, as he heard that the Konohas "number one ninja" was supposed to be back soon. But who was this… Tachi. The way she said his name so familiarly bothered him deeply.

She shouldn't go and act so friendly with every male she came across. The fact that she didn't act as friendly with _him_ kept irking him also.

"Who is this… Tachi? I have not heard his name before," Neji asked and narrowed his eyes at Sakura.

"A friend of mine, Anbu, if you must know," Sakura said and lifted her nose up in the air. She would have crossed her arms if she wasn't holding her bags.

This made Nejis frown to deepen. It would not do for a future Hyūga bride to be so friendly with other males, it just wasn't proper. Better let her know it early on.

"I do not find it appropriate for you to act so friendly with another male, Sakura," there, taken care of.

Little did he know that those few words could make any woman fume in anger.

"Well, isn't it a good thing that it isn't up to you who I'm acting friendly with, _Neji_?" The way she was smiling at the moment would have sent Naruto running to the mountains by now.

'_Not yet, it is not,'_ Neji thought with a smirk and decided to ignore her comment for now. He had more pressing matter to address anyway.

"I will come and get you tomorrow morning. And this time,_ no excuses,_" Neji said and with a nod, turned around, leaving a fuming Sakura behind.

_'That went... well,'_ Sakura thought sarcastically and turned around to head home. Narutos Ramen would just have to wait.

…

Poor Neji, he has another thing coming if he thinks that he can walk away from Sakura like that. :D

This chapter was a pain to write, but it had to be done. Luckily there will be some action in the next chappie! I'm pretty sure there are plenty of typos too, as I had to hurry to finish this, didn't want to leave it to next week. But just try to deal with it!

Stay tuned and as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	9. Chapter 8 Gifts

Chapter 8

_Accidents_

'_Shit shit shit!_' Sakura thought as she ran towards the training grounds.

She wasn't supposed to be so late, she had everything ready for the evening. Well she did, until a certain Hyūga decided to step in, ruin her plans for Sunday –not that she had any- and spoil her earlier good mood while he was at it.

'_Damn those Hyūgas! If they think that they can waltz into MY life, make me marry into _their_ uptight, arrogant, over the top and inbreeding clan AND expect me to behave like a good little Hyūga Wife, they got another thing coming!'_ Sakura seethed and jumped from roof top to roof top.

She knew that it wasn't only Nejis fault, he was, after all, only a branch member. Hiashi-Samas word was his law and as the clan head, he could marry Neji off as he pleased and when he pleased. And because he was the clan head, it was within his mind to make the clan stronger and more powerful. Sakura couldn't blame him for that, if she had a clan, she would want to look after it as well, to make sure that it would prosper.

"But why _me_?" Sakura groaned to herself.

Fortunately, her more than sour mood didn't affect her cooking skills and she was still able to make Tachi the 'best damn dango of his whole damn life' and she was quite happy with the results. She would have eaten them all by herself _if_ they weren't meant as an apology.

The number of them just wasn't as great as it was when she left home, she had no idea why. She shrugged her shoulders as she threw away another empty stick, the training grounds in her sight as she ran.

The recipe she used was found while going through Sasukes stuff after he left the village. She and Naruto tried to save some of his stuff in case he ever came back, but over the years they threw away some of it, his home coming was getting more and more unlikely as the years went by.

'_But damn if that recipe isn't heavenly. His mother must have been an amazing cook!'_ Sakura wondered as she thought about the hand written cooking book she saved from Sasukes old apartment before the Anbus came to search it for evidence. Almost all of Sasukes stuff was burned later on, that being the reason why she and Naruto sneaked in before the Anbu to save some of his personal belongings and heirlooms. As she saw the book, it was love at first sight. She didn't want such lovingly and well written book go to waste!

Naruto took some of Sasukes weapons and clothes he hadn't taken with him while Sakura took what heirlooms, pictures and personal items she could find. Over the years, Naruto threw away most of the clothes, it wasn't like they would fit him anymore even if he _did_ come back.

'_As if, it has been so long_ _already_,' Sakura sighed and took a step into the clearing, hoping that Tachi would forgive her lateness.

…

She. Was. Late.

Itachi has been waiting rather patiently, but as the minutes went by, he was starting to get _annoyed_. He was not one to accept tardiness of any kind. At first, when he first got into the clearing a _little_ early –to do his katas-, he was almost… anxious as he waited for her arrival.

Now how could that be?

Sure, it has been a few years since he last dated and he was not one to use women for pleasure only like his fellow Akatsukis, but this was hardly a reason to fret. He had had his own share of dating when his father tried to marry him off to another Uchiha. One of them was Rika or something similar to that.

She was a typical clan bred female, quiet, plain and well mannered, nothing like Sakura and her fiery temper, lively personality and eyes that seemed to sparkle mischievously, when she was planning something.

He was tempted to sigh.

Here he goes again; thinking about the medic, who was, by the way, still. not. here. He denied himself the pleasure to sigh, but took one calming breath to sooth his nerves. Sakura was a woman he was interested in, for now at least, nothing was set on stone at the moment. It wasn't like he was going to ask her hand in marriage just yet, she hasn't even agreed to his courting!

With this firmly in mind, he looked around the clearing.

It was quiet around this part of the village, the trees gave the area a good cover and not many used there grounds. This was, of course, one of the reasons he chose this training ground. There would –hopefully- not be any interruptions this time.

The weather was still warm, but not overly so, just ideal for a session, or two. He was about to envision said session that could include a few… accidents on his part, when he felt the object of his thought enter the clearing.

She seemed a little out of breath, like she had been running to get here, her cheeks were flushed and her hair was sticking up in every direction and there seemed to be a few leaves stuck somewhere in there as well. She was wearing her standard red sleeveless shirt and pink skirt with black leggings.

"I'm so sorry Tachi! I was going to be here on time, but a black cat was crossing the road and I was going to take another street, but then the poor guy got himself stuck into a tree and it turned out to be my neighbor's cat, Taki, So after rescuing him, I took little Taki home," Sakura said –with one breath too- and smiled innocently at him.

Itachi had the urge to chuckle, she had no idea how much she sounded like a certain Copy Nin at the moment. He was pretty sure that there was no cat included in her reasons for being late, but he was not one to pry.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are acquaintances with Hatake-san," smirking slightly, surely it was ok to tease her a little for making him wait so. The blush that rose onto her cheeks sure was worth it.

"I do not know what you are talking about," she said, smiling brightly and dropped down her back.

"Now, Sakura-San, care to let me know _why_ you asked for me to meet you here, only to end up being _late,_ hn?" Itachi asked, the Uchiha trademark grunt slipping by without his notice. He already knew the reason, that Hyūga clan, he just wanted to see if she would be honest with him.

"I… uhh… wanted to meet you?" Sakura flinched, that came out little bit too much like a question.

At his stare, he clearly wasn't buying it, she sighed.

"Okay okay, there might be someone I'm trying to avoid. But I really did want to see you too!" Sakura said, quickly adding the last part at the dry look he was sending her way.

"Clad to be of use, Sakura-San," Itachi said dryly. He wasn't angry with her, he just wanted to see that guilty blush.

'_Ah, there it is,'_ Itachi thought, smirking.

It was then that he noticed the box in her hands. Even though curiosity killed the cat, he found himself walking closer to the pinkette. Sakura seemed to notice where his gaze was pointed as she looked down at the box in her hands.

"Umn, this is for you," she said quietly and handed over the wooden bento box. He took it carefully and opened the lid enough to see that it was filled with dango.

"I hope you like them. It was _kind of_ rude of me to leave you like that without any explanation _and_ to be late," Sakura mumbled and smiled shyly. Itachi closed the lid as a dumfounded expression crossed his face. It has been _years_ since he last received a gift.

You simply did not receive chocolate or roses from another missing nin, even less so from an Akatsuki!

"I… thank you, Sakura," Itachi said, truly grateful.

"Oh, it was nothing! Don't go thanking me before tasting, I'm not the best at cooking!" Sakura said, embarrassed. It wasn't often that she received such a heartfelt thanks. The fact that he didn't use any honorific didn't bother her at all.

Itachi nodded and sat down against the tree, Sakura did so too, eager look on her face. She was clearly waiting to see if he would enjoy her gift. With a quiet chuckle, he lifted his mask just enough and took one dango stick from the box, also handing Sakura one. She took it without complain.

It was when he took the first, skeptical bite that he found himself freezing over.

They were his _mothers'_ dango.

…

In the next chappie, Sakura will be visiting the Hyūga!

At least I'm pretty sure she will…

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	10. Chapter 9 Engagement

Chapter 9

Edited 18.12.2015

_Engagement_

"_Tachi-Chan, you can't eat that many dango at once!" Mikoto, the mother of a three and a half year old prodigy yelled, alarmed that her son would choke on the amount of sweets he was stuffing into his little mouth._

_Said boy looked up from his already half empty plate, little puffy cheeks filled with said treat. His eyes were wide and innocent as he looked up at his mother, almost making Mikoto squeal at the utter cuteness of her only son. She was, after all, pregnant with a little baby girl who was due in six months!_

_Being the prodigy that he was, he swallowed before opening his mouth to speak to her._

"_But mommy, cousin Shisui said that if I don't eat them fast enough, a fetus will come and steal them!" Itachi exclaimed, saying the word "fetus" like it was his most feared enemy. He pulled the plate closer, as if to protect it from evil fetuses._

_Her little son sounded so serious too, Mikoto had a real hard time holding in her giggles. Her poor baby, how could he know that his cousin meant his own future little sister? That Shisui, always teasing her son! As if it would take that long for her little weasel to finish his plate. And she surely didn't want for her Tachi to choke on his food!_

"_Don't worry; mommy will protect you and your precious dango!" Mikoto wowed and patted her sons head. Itachi looked skeptical, but laid down the plate, for now._

_Seeing that her son wasn't trying to choke himself anymore, made Mikoto sigh in relief. That boy, he could surely live on that stuff._

"_You know Tachi-Chan, Shisui only meant your little sister," Mikoto said as she turned back to finish the dinner she was making. Fugaku should be home soon and he was sure to be hungry. There was a comfortable silence as she cooked and Itachi ate his sweets._

"_Mommy… her name isn't going to be fetus, is it?"_

_This time, Mikoto couldn't hold in her laughter._

…

Itachi could still hear his mother's quiet laughter at his childish ignorance, even thought it was such a long time ago. He looked at Sakura, who was waiting anxiously for him to say if he liked her gift. How could he not? He had always loved his mother's cooking more than anything. He could say that Sakura and his mother would have gotten along well; they shared the same fiery, but loving spirit and both were always there to take care of their important people. He could picture them, gossiping together like teenagers as they cooked.

She looked so beautiful to him, sitting there and biting her lower lip nervously. Even though he kept telling himself that Konoha was full of strong and able women, he couldn't help but think that this pink haired slip of a girl would be the one for him.

He jumped out of his thoughts as he heard her quiet, nervous voice.

"Tachi, are you okay? It's okay if you don't like them! I was in a hurry as I made them an-"

"Sakura, I do like them, very much so," Itachi said, smiling. As his mask was still partly lifted, she could see his small smile, the sight making her blush.

"They just… reminded me of my late mother," he admitted quietly.

"Oh, I… I'm sorry," Sakura said, she knew what it was like to lose a family. Itachi just shook his head –it was a long time ago, after all- and smirked at her.

"You have some dango on your face," Itachi said, causing that blush he so liked to appear on her cheeks once again.

"Where?" Sakura asked and started to wipe her face frantically, her blush spreading down her shirt. She looked quite comical as she sat there with her face red, rubbing her cheeks in hopes of cleaning them. She didn't need to know there was nothing on her face.

"Right here," he said quietly and leaned in to lick her cheek right next to her lips.

…

Sakura was in cloud nine for the rest of their session.

After Tachi _licked_ her cheek, there seemed to be a permanent blush on her cheeks, but after Tachi asked her if she was okay, she only blamed it on the weather. It _was_ pretty hot today, but they still agreed on having a little spar, only using Taijutsu, but Sakura found it almost impossible to concentrate on the task at hand.

'_That man sure smelled heavenly,'_ Sakura thought and smiled to herself.

His lightly musky sent mixed with smoke almost made her toes curl as he leaned closer to her. She took a quiet sniff, again, he smelled purely _male_, it must have been a sin to smell that good. Sakura hoped she wasn't drooling.

"You are not paying attention, Sa-ku-ra," oh, the way he growled her name, it almost made her moan out loud.

"Oh," she hmned and sniffed him again, almost leaning in to nuzzle his neck.

Itachi chuckled; the way that she was sniffing him was amusing him to no end. She herself smelled quite good, as he inhaled her sent, but he sure knew how to do it less… noticeably. She just kept on sniffing him and humming to herself.

The sigh _was_ quite adorable.

"Smell something you like?" Itachi asked, smirking, making sure to press his muscular chest against her softer one. The contact made him growl, she fit against him so nicely, but he didn't circle his arms around her like he wanted to. Itachi didn't want her to feel cornered; he knew she wouldn't like that. He had seen the way she reacted to the overbearing Hyūga and didn't wish to make the same mistake.

No, _she_ would come to _him_.

His question seemed to snap her out of her self-induced high, as she jumped away from him. It made him frown; he had liked her right where she was, against him.

"I, oh _god_, I'm sorry!" Sakura yelled, mortified of her own boldness, here she was, sniffing him like a bitch in heat; he must think that she was a complete weirdo by now! There was so much blood rushing to her face at that moment that Sakura was sure she would faint soon.

"It is quite fine, Sakura, I find your sent pleasing as well," Tachi said matter of factly and shrugged, like it was the most natural thing in the world to go around, sniffing people.

"I just… you don't _mind_?" Sakura asked skeptically, surely he would have been uncomfortable. But then again, it was _he_ who pressed his chest against hers. Sakura had no idea what made him do _that_, but it sure had felt nice being pressed so intimately against such a finely build male.

Tachi just chook his head and nodded towards the trees.

"Sit whit me for a moment before you leave?" the way he said that, it didn't sound too much like a question. More like a gentle command with little option, but to comply. So Sakura nodded, still in a daze and followed him to sit against the trees. After a moment of silence, Tachi asked the question she had been dreading.

"So, Sakura, care to let me know what left you so tense earlier?"

Sakura thought it over, it wouldn't hurt to tell Tachi, he hardly seemed like he would go spreading her secrets to the whole population of Konoha. And she really wanted to get it out of her chest. Maybe, just maybe, he had a solution to her little… problem with the Hyūga clan.

With her mind made up, she opened her mouth to explain.

"It's the Hyūgas; they have been pestering me to join them for dinner, but so far I have been able to avoid them," Sakura sighed and hugged her knees.

"I mean, sure, there are certain benefits that come with marrying into a clan like the Hyūga, but I…" she didn't seem to find the words, but fortunately Tachi came to her rescue.

"You do not want to be tied down, to live by their rules and orders?" Tachi asked carefully.

"I guess. More than that, I wish to marry for love, not for benefit," she whispered sadly and looked at the setting sun. Its yellowish rays were painting the trees with their glow. The sight calmed her.

"I'd rather live on the roads as missing nin with a man that I love, than be tied down to a man I hardly know with luxuries in my life. Neji isn't that bad of a guy, but hardly someone that would let me live my life as I wish to…" Sakura whispered and closed her eyes tiredly.

Hearing her say that she wouldn't mind living on the move, if only to have love, made him smile, pleased with this discovery. It was good to know that Sakura was not someone that loved material things in life. Not that he couldn't afford them, he was more than able to, but knowing that she wanted the more simple things in life made her that much more lovelier in his eyes.

He guessed that now would be a good time as any to start wooing her. He could help her in her quest to avoid the Hyūgas; they couldn't force her to marry into the clan, if she was claimed by another man. Itachi, after all, knew how the clan marriages worked; he had been part of one for the most of his life.

"There… is a way for you to deny their proposal," Itachi started carefully, knowing that she wouldn't like what he was going to say.

"Somehow, I get the feeling I'm not going to like this," Sakura murmured and lifted an eyelid to glance at him. Itachi thought so too and decided to just come out with it.

"They cannot claim you if you are tied down to another male," there, he said it.

"Tied… down? As in, I'm dating someone else?" Sakura hoped it was that simple, she would just date someone for a while and throw the Hyūgas off her tail! But somehow, that sounded way _too_ easy.

"It's… a little bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid," she saw that one coming. "There must be an engagement or an upcoming marriage to deny them the right to marry you into their clan," he finished.

"So… I have to marry someone either way?" bye-bye freedom!

"Not necessarily, we could… fake it."

'_For now.'_

"Wait! Are you saying you would help me? That's… I wouldn't want to bother you," Sakura sounded hopeful, but she didn't want to bother him, he must have been busy, being Anbu and all. Tachi just waived his hand, as if to say that it was okay.

He really wouldn't mind, as he planned to marry her anyway.

"I would not mind, I enjoy your company, deeply so," and he did. The idea that they would be spending much more time together in the future, made him _almost_ exited, but he was not one for such extreme emotions.

His quiet admittance made her blush and she burrowed her head between her knees, a shy smile on her lips. Tachi sure knew his way with words.

"I… enjoy spending time with you too."

"Hn," it just slipped out, but fortunately Sakura didn't seem to notice his verbal mistake.

"So, how will we do this?" Sakura asked carefully, still not completely convinced that Tachi was okay with this. It was good that Sakura couldn't see Itachis feral smirk, covered by his mask, it might have caused her to run, fast.

"As of for now, we are engaged."

…

After they came to the agreement that they were, for now, "engaged", Sakura found it much easier to sleep that night. The upcoming dinner with the Hyūgas didn't sound so imposing anymore, now that she knew they couldn't force her into a marriage she didn't want. Tachi said that they would take care of the rings and other minor details later, but for now, the information that she was taken should slow the Hyūgas down.

That night, she dreamt of fire and smoke.

…

Sakura kept looking around the compound as she walked with Neji. All the Hyūgas looked the same to her with their regal appearances and brown hair, the amount of inbreeding they must have done to keep their clan pure made her shiver in disgust.

Neji was being his usual, quiet self as they walked, but that was alright with her, like totally fine. She didn't know how to reveal her "engagement" and she was still pissed off about the way he stormed into her apartment that morning. He gave her only fifteen minutes to get ready, nearly dragging her out of her bed in the process.

'That infuriating, full of himself, arrogant and stupid male!' Sakura fumed and glared at him, nearly fracturing the ground as she stomped forward. If it wasn't frowned upon, she would have pummeled him to the ground by now! She would have to ask him to train with her later, if only to let out some steam.

Her fondness of sake was not the only thing she had in common with Tsunade.

"Sakura, we are here," he said and stopped at the main doors, almost causing her to run into his back. The sight of the door made her gulp and with a calming breath she nodded. She was ready, or as ready as she would ever be.

"Let's do this thing."

…

"Sakura-San," Hiashi greeted as she and Neji stepped in to the room. It was almost empty, if not counting the low table made from cherry wood and the soft looking pillows. It seemed to be the clan heads office, if the tidy pile of paper and the expensive looking ink set were anything to go by. She noticed a cup of tea in his hand as he gestured for them to come closer.

'_He sure has a bland taste… My office is covered in stuff from top to bottom!'_

"Hiashi-Sama," Sakura answered politely and gave a small bow. Even though Sakura was annoyed, she still had her manners. Training under Tsunade for so long had taught her all she needed to know about political games and schemes.

"Please, do sit down," Hiashi said and nodded towards the two cushions opposite of him, that, in Sakuras opinion, were _way_ too close to each other. What a promising start.

'_Not,' _she thought sourly.

After sitting down, with Neji right next to her, Sakura waited for the Hyūga head to just come out with it. Hiashi seemed to notice her grim look, as he chuckled.

"Sakura-San, do you have any idea as to why I asked for you to join us today?" Hiashi started, looking between her and Neji. He seemed pleased when he noticed how close they were sitting, as if confirming something.

Sakura gulped.

"I have heard some bits and pieces at the hospital. Those rumors just seem hard to believe," she was never one to believe rumors and it seemed that Hiashi was pleased by this fact.

"The thing is, Sakura-San, I am growing old, but I find it that neither one of my daughters are ready to lead this clan."

'_Well, this isn't looking too good,'_ Sakura gulped.

"And you must be wondering why I asked you here," ah, here it comes.

"I want you, the Hokages apprentice, as the future matriarch of this clan, to lead the Hyūgas with Neji, as I make him the head," Hiashi said.

'_There is cam- wait wait wait, WHAT!?_' Sakura thought, her eyes widened in surprise. Her, as a matriarch of the Hyūgas, WHAT!?

"Hiashi-Sama, It would be an honor, but-"

He lifted his hand to silence her.

"You must be overwhelmed. It will be a big responsibility, but I am sure you will manage just fine. From what I hear, Tsunade-Sama was going to groom you to be her successor," the clan head said and sipped his tea calmly; like he just didn't reveal that she was to be groomed as a Hokage! That was Narutos dream, she would never ever dream of taking it from him! Surely he was mistaken; Tsunade must have been speaking about Naruto. Yes, that was it.

But, for some reason, all that paper work finally made sense, all the political missions she had taken and the meetings Tsunade _insisted_ she attend to, when she was too hung-over to do so herself.

'_Shit,'_ Sakura was sure she would faint on the spot.

"You must be mistak-"

There it came again, the silencing hand of doom.

"Now, you must be tired, this is a lot to take in after all. I will have a room prepared for you and I wish to see you moved within the compound as soon as possible. It is not suitable for the future matriarch of our clan to live outside our walls," Hiashi stood up and nodded at them, as if signaling that this was the end of their discussion.

"Neji will take you home to pack," and then he was gone.

Just. like. that.

'_What- I can't- He just- Just, what _the_ FUCK!_' Sakura fumed and looked at Neji, eyes blazing like the fires of hell. Someone had some explaining to do!

"Hyūga, what is the meaning of this!?" Sakura demanded. How could he just sit there and act so calmly, when his _uncle_ pretty much sealed their fates.

"My last name will hardly insult me, Sakura, as we will be sharing it soon enough," Neji said and smirked at her. Seriously, that guy had a death wish.

"Oh, if you think that I will act like a good little Hyūga wife, you got another thing coming, lover boy!" she ranted and stood up. Neji got up, but a lot more gracefully. He took her hands in his larger ones and pried open her fingers; they were starting to turn white from the firm pressure of her fists.

"I do wish for us to marry and I do wish for us to lead this clan together," he said calmly. His honest tone calmed her anger, but only a tiny bit.

"Neji, you cannot just go and decide something like this for me. I have a life that I enjoy very much so and I cannot just leave the hospital!" Sakura sighed.

"I am aware of your duties to the hospital and I am fine with the fact that you wish to continue your work there after the wedding. As long as you fill your duties as the matriarch, you are free to do as you please, within reason of course," Neji explained calmly and rubbed his thumbs in circles on her wrists, trying to calm her down.

"Oh yeah, and what duties are those?" Sakura asked sarcastically and tried to pry her hands away from Nejis larger ones.

They held on firmly.

Somehow, this seemed like the wrong thing to ask, as Neji smirked at her. Sakura got the foreboding feeling that she wasn't going to like his answer, at all.

"Do not play dumb, Sakura, it doesn't suit you. It is a matriarch's duty to provide the heirs to the clan," Neji said matter-of-factly.

'_Oh, nope nope nope no-'_

Neji must have seen her shocked face as he smiled gently for her.

"Do not worry yourself so; I am sure you will do _our_ clan proud."

Sakura learned something new that day; apparently, it was possible to faint from shock.

…

I made it extra long for you guys, so gimme some love!

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	11. Chapter 10 Misconception

Chapter 10

Edited 18.12.2015

_Misconception_

She woke up slowly, but already aware that she was not in her own house.

It was too bright to be her bedroom, the smell was wrong and there were the occasional footsteps outside the door.

'_What happened? Last I remember I was talking with Hias-'_ that made her eyes fly open. She was still within the Hyūga compound!

Sakura turned her head to look around the room. It was big, too big for a single person. The walls were white with big windows and there was a sliding door located between them. There weren't that many furniture other than a bed, closet, and a writing table in the room. All in all, it looked empty, like no one lived there at the moment.

'_That's positive, at least they didn't throw me in the same room with Neji,'_ Sakura sighed and pushed herself into a sitting position. She looked down at herself and noticed that her clothes had been changed into a thin, white sleeping Yukata.

"I really hope that it wasn't Neji," she muttered and looked up when the sliding door was pulled open.

"Sakura, you are awake," it was Neji.

'_Talk about the devil,'_ Sakura thought dryly.

"Neji…" Sakura sighed.

"Are you feeling ok? Our medics said that you have not been eating properly, that being the reason for your fainting," Neji asked, not pleased about that fact.

Oh right, the only thing she ate that morning was part of the dango she gave to Tach- oh right, Tachi. How could she forget that she was "engaged" to him!? Time to bring it up and start their self-appointed mission about faking their relationship.

"Neji, there is something I have been meaning to tell you," Sakura started carefully, this could end up badly. The Hyūgas were a proud clan, they wouldn't take it kindly when they were denied something they wanted.

"Sakura, if you are trying to lose weight, don't. I find your body pleasing as it is," Neji said, clearly closing the discussion. Well that's positive, her figure was "pleasing" as it is.

"It is not that, I'm actually already eng-" Sakura started, but a voice from the door interrupted her.

"Sakura, it is good to see you up," Hiashi said and walked into the room like he owned it. Oh right, he kind of did.

'_It's now or never,'_ Sakura thought.

"Hiashi-Sama, I have something that I must say," Sakura said in a firm voice, it seemed to catch his attention.

"What is it Sakura? Is there something you feel uncertain about?"

'_Oh no! I absolute want to marry your nephew right now and have plenty of white-eyed babies with him!'_ Sakura thought sarcastically. These Hyūgas were a little bit too full of themselves, it's not like every Kunoichi would jump at the chance to marry into their clan. True, most probably would, but she was not one of them.

"I'm… I'm engaged!" Sakura blurted out.

_*Insert awkward silence here*_

"Of course we are," Neji said and took one of her hands into his larger ones, while Hiashi was nodding his head.

"It pleases me that you are getting used to the idea of marrying Neji," Hiashi said, a small, pleased smile working its way onto his lips.

…

"So, how did it go?" Itachi asked from the kitchen as he saw Sakura fall face first onto her couch. Sakura told him earlier that he was welcome to spend time at her house while she was at the Hyūgas, so he did, immediately taking advantage of the kitchen.

She mumbled something and waived her hand at him, letting it drop afterwards.

"That well, huh?" Itachi chuckled and set the onigiri he had been making onto the plate with the other identical ones. He took the teapot and two mugs, as well as the plate and made his way to the living room.

"I take it they weren't too happy about it," he said as he set down the tea pot, cups and plate.

Sakura lifter her head away from the pillow, glared at him and dropped her head back to the pillow, face first.

"Ah, I see. It was misconception," Itachi mumbled and poured them some tea. When Itachi was done he took a seat at the armchair.

"Misunderstanding!? Damn right it was!" Sakura yelled and jumped up from the couch, fire in her eyes.

"That bad?" Itachi asked calmly and lifted his mask enough to take a bite of the rise ball he made earlier.

"They are under the illusion that I'm happy to be engaged to Neji and Hiashi was already summoning a wedding planner, before I made an excuse to leave!" Sakura ranted and took the onigiri Tachi was offering. She took a bite and paused. It tasted even better than the ones she made from Sasukes mothers book!

"These are amazing, where did you learn to cook like this?" Sakura moaned and ate the whole thing in one bite. She sat back down on the couch with a sigh, clearly tired from her ordeal with the Hyūgas.

"Thank you. My mother was a really good cook, she used to teach me," Itachi said and smirked at the sight she was making. She looked like a pink chipmunk with her cheeks filled. Better not say that one aloud.

"Don't choke," he said chuckling and reached over to give her a cup of tea. She took it with a smile, a guilty blush on her face.

"Thanks," she said and took a sip and found that it was just how she preferred. She enjoyed sweets, almost too much so, but she preferred to have her tea without any milk or sugar. It seemed like she and Tachi had something in common.

"What are we going to do now? It seemed like Hiashi wanted us to marry as soon as possible," Sakura asked quietly and swirled the tea in her cup.

Tachi made a quiet hum as he took a sip from his cooling tea.

"We could… go on a mission to slow their plan down," he seemed a little unsure of himself.

Sakura sat up a little straighter.

"That… is actually a pretty good idea! While we're out, we can get "engaged," that way it doesn't sound too out of blue. Neji already knows of you too," Sakura thought and tapped her chin.

"I'll need my medic kit and I need to make a new patch of soldier pills," Sakura mumbled.

"Sakura, I really need to tell you something before we think about leaving," Tachi said, suddenly serious. This got Sakuras attention and she turned her eyes towards the Anbu.

"What is it Tachi? You don't need to worry about me, this wouldn't be the first high ranked mission that I'm taking," Sakura waived him away and got up to walk towards her room to back.

"No, that is not i-"Itachi tried, but sighed when he notices that Sakura was already half way up the stairs. He straightened his mask and followed her.

"-Besides, Hiashi let it slip that I'm being groomed to be a Hokage, can you believe that? I don't really want that position, in my mind, it has always belonged to Naruto, but I'm sure I can handle one Anbu ranked mission," Sakura reasoned and took out her bag.

'_Great, the woman I'm trying to woo is the possible future Hokage,'_ Itachi thought sarcastically and leaned against the doorframe. He didn't want to take her out of the city without her knowing who he was. It would literally make her a missing nin too and Itachi didn't want to take away her choice. He wouldn't be able to play the part of "Tachi", if they ran into Kisame for example.

That would blow his cover in the most unfortunate way, he might as well say goodbye to his envisioned family right now. He sighed tiredly and looked up at the woman.

Sakura was halfway done packing already.

"You see, Sakura, Tachi is not my real name," Itachi said quietly and walked towards Sakura, she hardly looked up from the scroll she was scanning.

"Oh, don't worry, I know Anbus don't give out their real names. More often than not, your lives depend on the anonymity," Sakura said and looked at him with a small smile and went back to packing.

Itachi frowned, this was a lot harder than he thought. He knew that she wouldn't be all smiles when she found out who he _really_ was.

"That is not what I meant. My real name is-" once again, she stopped him.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind calling you Tachi, it suits you," Sakura said and took a hold of his hand. She only meant to give him a reassuring squeeze, when she noticed that his hand was really warm against her smaller one.

"You have really warm hands," Sakura said, her voice full of wonder as she turned towards him fully to inspect said appendages.

"I, *Cough* I have an affinity to fire," there was a steady blush growing on his cheeks. It has been years since anyone held his hands.

It felt… nice.

"Hmn, good to know. I might have to use you as a personal heater while we are out on that mission," Sakura joked and let go of his hands. She turned back to her pack, clearly almost done.

He did not need those images swimming in his head. He needed to focus, this was important!

"Sakura, my real name is U-" he tried once more, but a loud voice interrupted him.

"SA-KUUU-RA-CHAAAAAN! I'M HOOOMEEE!"

'_Oh joy.'_

…

Guess who's back!

I apologize it took me this long to get this chapter out, I moved into my new apartment and it took most of my time to make it… livable.

As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day! (:

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	12. Chapter 11 Mission

Chapter 11

Edited 18.12.2015

_Mission_

_"SA-KUUU-RA-CHAAAAAN! I'M HOOOMEEE!"_

_'Oh joy.'_

_..._

'_This isn't good,'_ Itachi thought and frowned. Naruto wouldn't recognize his chakra as he was masking it, but he couldn't say the same about the demon that was sealed within him.

"Saakuuraa-Chaan! Where are you?" Naruto whined and Itachi heard as he took the stairs.

"Naruto, quiet down, I'm in my room!" Sakura yelled and looked up at him.

"I'll go see Tsunade in a while about that mission, see you before that so we can work out the details?" Sakura asked in a whisper and smiled at him. Itachi nodded and was gone in blink and not a second later Naruto pulled her in for a hug.

"I missed you so much!" Naruto said and swirled her around.

"Naruto! Put me down!" Sakura said laughing and hugged him back.

"But Sakuraaa-Chaaaaan, I haven't seen you 168 hours!"

"That's only 7 days, dickless," ah, it seems that Sai was here too.

"Hello Sai," Sakura said with a small smile. It was good to her boys back, she had missed them. Naruto was grinning like an idiot and Sai gave one small smile as well. They seemed to be glad to be home too. Neither one of them looked hurt, only tired, nothing that a good food and plenty of rest couldn't cure.

"Ugly," Sai greeted as Sakura pulled him in for a hug.

"I missed you guys," Sakura said happily as she let Sai go.

"It's good to be home!" Naruto exclaimed whit a grin. He turned around, no doubt about to go into his room to get clean clothes and a shower. Sai didn't move and inch and Sakura gave him a questioning look.

"Sakura, who was that Anbu?" Sai asked.

'_Shit, sometimes I forget he is an Anbu himself,'_ Sakura thought and giggled awkwardly.

"Don't worry Sai, he's a friend of mine," Sakura said, hoping that Sai would drop the subject. Sai nodded, but Sakura wasn't too sure if he believed her.

"I see," Sai answered and turned around to leave the room.

Sakura sighed when Sai was gone and fell down on her bed. Naruto would -no doubt about it- want to go for ramen after he was done with his shower and Sai was probably going to come too. Maybe if they were lucky, they would see Kakashi-Sensei and ask him to join them.

'_Unlikely, I haven't seen more than a flash of him since the new book came out,'_ Sakura thought with a laugh and shut her eyes for a while. Naruto would come and get her when he was ready.

…

Itachi looked from the nearby roof as Naruto hugged Sakura, a bang of jealousy entering his mind. He told himself that he had no reason to feel such silly emotions, but the feeling wouldn't go away. So with a frown he turned around and made his way to his hotel. He had things to pack before their mission.

'_I almost told her who I am,'_ Itachi thought as he jumped from roof to roof. Sure, he _wanted_ her to know, but he needed a _plan_. One that wouldn't –hopefully- get him killed.

He thought about the incoming mission, it would be a perfect opportunity to make her his. After all, they already agreed that they would get "engaged" on said mission, he would just have to make it real. He had a few plans in mind, but they all included the Sharingan. He didn't want to use it for his future wife, so he told himself to save it as a last resort.

He would have to tempt her in the old way. He wasn't one for pretty words and flowers, but he could be quite charming when he wanted to be. He was the Uchiha heir after all.

Besides, if he so decided, he could take his mission scroll to the Hokage and ask to be pardoned. He has been on this mission long enough in his mind. He thought of Sasuke then, his reason for being away from Konoha, his home. He has been so unselfish his whole life, his thought was always on Sasuke and what he would need.

Couldn't he be selfish this once and have himself a life of his own?

'It's time to think what I need,' Itachi thought.

Yes, he decided, when they came _home _from this mission, he would talk to the Hokage.

...

"Naaruutooo, you can't eat that much!" Sakura said and watched with amazement as he drowned his tenth cup of ramen. Sakura was hardly finished with her first cup!

"But Sakura-Chaaan! I haven't eaten here in a week!" Naruto whined.

"Dickles, that is only seven days," Sai commented, he was on his first bowl as well.

"I know how many days are in a week you bastard!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura sighed.

She did miss her boys, but this she did not miss. Sometimes, they could be so childish! She guessed that she was just used to more nature company while at the hospital, even though even some Anbus were babies about needles.

_'Scratch that, only mature company I've had is Tachi,' _Sakura thought with a smile.

"Eh, Sakura-Chan... why are you smiling? You're not gonna hit me again, right?" Naruto asked uncertainly and covered his head. Lately, he had learned that seeing her smile was not a good sign.

"Please stop smiling ugly, it makes you even uglier," Sai just had to put his word in.

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you two!"

...

After making sure that her boys learned their lesson, Sakura made her way towards the Hokage tower. She was hoping to catch a sight of Tachi on her way there, but he didn't seem to be anywhere to be seen. Thought, she was avoiding the main street, she didn't want to be seen by a certain -or any- Hyūga.

When she crossed paths with one earlier, they bowed to her in greeting and called her "Sakura-Sama".

She guessed that the world traveled quickly in a clan.

So with a quick nod at their way, she had pulled her two very confused boys away from the scene. When they asked what it was about, she just told them she had healed those Hyūgas earlier that week.

Luckily they believed her.

It wasn't like she could tell them that she was going to -not if she could stop them!- be their new patriarch.

'Now that I think about it... That sounds harder to believe. Should have just joked about it and they would have dropped it,' Sakura thought with a humorless laugh.

She was going to turn a corner when someone took a hold of her shoulder.

"Sakura," a quiet voice greeted and turned her around.

"Ta- Tachi? I was just looking for you," Sakura said with a smile.

"Aa," Tachi hmed and removed his hand.

"So, what is the plan?" Sakura asked and looked into his dark eyes.

"I found a mission for us. But you have to request it since I'm... on a holiday you could say," Itachi said and pulled out a scroll.

"Here are the details," Itachi said.

"But... I'd hate to bother you on your free time," Sakura said, but took the scroll anyway. She wasn't going to say no to a mission with Tachi!

"You aren't bothering me, Sakura, believe me on this," Tachi said with a smirk.

"If you say so..." Sakura mumbled and opened the scroll. She scanned it through and couldn't help but be impressed. It was a spy mission of sorts, easily doable alone, but the given time for this mission was a month. So a month away on a mission with Tachi, just the two of them.

"How did you acquire this? These kind of missions are a rare treat!" Sakura asked with a wide grin. Even the pay from this mission was good! Almost her two months' pay from the hospital!

"I have my ways," they included the Sharingan and a few clones, but she didn't need to know that.

"I'm sure you do," Sakura said with a laugh.

"Not, I'll go and see Tsunade so that we can be off as soon as possible," Sakura said and was already turning away but a familiar hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I'll be waiting at the gates," he said quietly and just like that, was gone.

_'Pft, ninjas,' _Sakura thought grumpily, not even noticing that she insulted herself as well.

With a small smile, she was off to the Hokage tower.

...

"Quite a catch you have there, Sakura," Tsunade said approvingly, clearly impressed that she was able to snatch such a nice mission first.

Those kind of missions didn't stand on the roster more than a few minutes. The good pay, lots of free time and easy appointment ones were _literally_ fought over.

"Yeah, it took some work to get it," Sakura said with a smile.

"So, when are you leaving?" Tsunade asked.

"I already packed, so as soon as I say bye to Naruto and Sai," Sakura said.

"I see. Have a safe trip then, Sakura-Chan," Tsunade said motheringly, making Sakura grin.

"I will Tsunade-Sama!"

...

"You are leaving!? But we just got back!" Naruto yelled and hugged the living daylights out of her. He couldn't believe his Sakura-Chaaaan was going to leave _just_ when he got home! They were supposed to train together and eat ramen together and spend some time together and-

"Naruto, air!" Sakura gasped and tried to free her arm to hit him.

"But, but... I wanted to spend some time with you first," Naruto said sadly, a pout working its way on his lips. He loosened his hold, making Sakura sigh.

"I know, Naruto. I'll promise to spent time with you when I'll get back in a month," Sakura promised.

"A MONTH!?"

_'Oh boy...'_ shouldn't have said that.

…

I'm so sorry guys! D:

I was at the hospital and it came kind of suddenly, so I wasn't able to inform you guys about my small hiatus.

But now that they fixed up my arm and I don't need those strong meds anymore, I'm able to write once again! (:

I know this chappie wasn't my best and it's kinda short, but try and bear with me. I'm trying to find my touch again...

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	13. Chapter 12 Journey

Chapter 12

Edited 18.12.2015

_Journey_

Getting rid of Naruto when leaving on a mission was probably the hardest part of said mission. In his opinion, being away for a week was "forever" and anything more than that equaled "eternity".

So telling Naruto that she was going to be away for a month was sure to end up badly.

After revealing that she was going to be away for four weeks, getting out of Narutos bear hug was a mission in itself. His hugs could be called S-class hug –death- traps that were impossible to escape.

When Sakura finally made it to their meeting point, after freeing herself from the hug-Of-Death, she was already 30 minutes late, her hair was sticking up in every direction, she was out of breath AND she was pretty sure that Naruto had bruised at least three of her ribs. Seeing Tachi standing there quietly, as if he had waited for her this whole time made her flinch, this was the 2nd time she had made him wait for her.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry Tachi! It took me forever to pack!" Itachi didn't mention that she had packed earlier when he was still at her house. "And then I had to say bye to my friends." there was a friend yes, and he didn't know how to keep his hands to himself.

"Sakura-San, it's fine," Itachi said quietly, calmly. He had been following her after all, so he knew why she was late and it wasn't her fault.

Sakura smiled brightly, clearly happy that he wasn't mad at her and turned to walk towards the gates with Itachi right next to her. Neither of them felt the need to break the comfortable silence and the fact pleased Itachi.

When traveling with Kisame, The Mist nin felt the constant need for needles chatter.

'_It seems there will not be such a problem with Sakura_,' Itachi thought with a smirk.

"It should take us about two days to reach our destination, as there is no need to hurry," Sakura said calmly as they reached the gates. Itachi nodded, knowing this. They were in no hurry after all.

"Aa," Itachi agreed quietly as they passed the gates.

…

"This is just my luck," Sakura grumped as they tried to find a cave to hide from the pouring rain. The 1st part of their journey went smoothly enough, their pace was steady and comfortable, but it was when the 1st drop of water hit Sakuras face that she knew their journey would be cut short soon enough.

"I think there should be a cave nearby," Tachi said quietly and pointed to the caves direction.

"Thank god!" Sakura sighed and followed his lead.

The cave was small, but could easily enough fit the both of them if they sat close enough. Sakura crawled in first, wanting to get out of the pouring, cold rain as fast as possible. Tachi came in after her, much more leisurely.

There wasn't enough room to build a fire as the smoke would fill the small cave fast enough, but Sakura didn't mind. She took of her drenched travel coat, glad to find that her clothes under the cloak had stayed dry enough. She looked up to find Tachi taking of his cloak as well, noticing that he wasn't that wet either.

"We should stay here till the rain stops, the trees are too slippery to travel safely in this weather," Sakura said and tried to squeeze some water out of her hair.

"Aa," Tachi agreed quietly and sat down next to her.

There was a comfortable silence that was broken by Sakuras shivers.

"You are cold," Tachi noted.

"Eh, it's ok, I can just use chakra to warm myself up! Tsunade showed me thi-"

"Come here," Tachi ordered quietly and lifted his left arm up, as if inviting her to sit closer to him. Sakura blushed at the bold invitation, but reasoned with herself that it was logical to share body heat. After all, you never knew if they were attacked and she would need her chakra.

So with a small blush she crawled to sit next to the quiet Anbu and almost flinched as he laid his arm on her shoulder to pull her closer. But as soon as she felt how warm he was, she relaxed,

'How can he be so warm?' Sakura thought in wonder and snuggled closer to his side, making the quiet ninja chuckle. She decided to ask him as much.

"I have an affinity to fire," he answered smoothly and shrugged.

Sakura humned, not really listening to more as she found a comfortable position with her head pillowed on his chest. Traveling the most part of a day in pouring rain could drain even the best of them. It escaped her notice that Tachi didn't seem tired at all.

"Sleep, Sakura, I will keep watch," Tachi said quietly.

She was asleep before he finished his sentence.

…

"Sakura," this was the fifth time he had tried to wake her, but it seemed like she slept like the dead after getting comfortable. And it seemed she was comfortable enough, as she had squirmed her way onto his lap. He didn't mind it in the least, but he did mind about the awfully familiar chakra signature that was closing in on them.

"Nee, Tachi-Kun, five more minutes," Sakura whined in his ear and snuggled her face into his neck.

If they had the time, he wouldn't deny her plea, but they had to leave before _he_ found them like this.

"Sakura, wake up, we need to go," Itachi said, firmer this time.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly and yawned. She looked around, her mind still foggy, but when she realized where she was, and how, she blushed brightly. She tried to scramble off of his lap, but Tachi held her down and covered her mouth before she could say anything.

"Quiet, someone has found us," Tachi whispered and removed his hand slowly in case she would yell out.

Sakura seemed to understand the situation as she nodded and stayed quiet. She looked around warily, clearly trying to sense who was following them. She could sense that the signature was large and powerful, but she couldn't place yet who it was.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked quietly, reaching for her cloak in case they would have to leave.

"Akatsuki," he answered, making Sakura gulp.

"How many?" Sakura asked carefully.

"Only one," Tachi said and got up when Sakura got off of him fully. He knew it would be risky to meet Kisame. He was not the smartest fish in the sea and he could blow his cover faster than he could say "hn". The best way was to send Sakura ahead while he took care of the problem.

"I want you to go ahead, I can hold him back and then follow you," Tachi said and put on his own cloak.

"I will not leave you here to fight him off alone!"

"Sakura listen-," he started, but she cut him off.

"No, you listen here mister! We're in this together," she said stubbornly, making Itachi sigh.

"You do not unde-"

"What a touching reunion between Konoha nin, eeeh?"

…

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	14. Chapter 13 Hope

Chapter 13

_Hope_

Now Itachi wasn't usually one to swear, he was too sophisticated for such a thing. That, and his dear mother taught him better than that. He had been, still was in many ways, the heir to their clan, a clan that had always taught manners to their young from early age to adulthood.

Manners he would be teaching to his own young as well, and to those after them.

But staring at Kisame's rain wretched cloak as Sakura stood behind him, ready for a fight, seemed like a great place to start as any.

He was fully aware that Kisame knew who he was, it was up to him if he decided to keep quiet about it or not. Going by the smirk that was on Kisame's face as he pulled away the stray hat… His chances were quite slim. He knew of Kisame's need for entertainment, he just hoped that revealing him wasn't in his list of fun things to do.

"What a touching reunion between Konoha nin, eeeh?"

Yes, definitely a great place to start as any.

"Fuck."

…

Kisame knew who it was that stood before him, oh yes he did, and the situation his dear partner had gotten himself into was more than amusing to him. He knew of Itachi's need for a family, had seen his longing looks towards other families as they traveled, seen his kind looks and gestures towards smaller children and the envious looks towards men who had their wives walking next to them.

'_It was only a matter of time I guess,'_ Kisame thought with a chuckle and pulled off his hat, fully aware of the smirk gracing his lips.

"What a touching reunion between Konoha nin, eeeh?" Kisame said with a grin, he was allowed to have his fun if nothing else.

He could almost hear the gears running in the younger boy's head. But it was the word that escaped quietly from his usually tightly sealed lips that almost made him lose his composure.

"Fuck."

Oh this was rich! The Uchiha Itachi he knew would never let such a wile word pass his lips. He needed to bite his lips to keep from laughing, choosing to instead grin at Itachi, as if ready to say his name. Itachi seemed to see this and glared at him right through those tiny holes in his Anbu mask.

"Sakura… you must leave." Itachi didn't take his eyes off from him thought, making his grin all the more wider.

The girl behind him must have took his urgent voice as fear for her safety, as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," ooooh this girl had spunk!

'_Sakura… the name sounds familiar_," Kisame thought, now seeing the pink hair for the first time. He remembered only one girl with pink hair, the little girl that was in Itachi's little brothers team. Haruno Sakura was her name… Was this the same Haruno girl that took out Sasori? This tiny little thing?!

"_Haruno_… Sakura?" Kisame asked with a grin. This made Itachi's glare ten times worse. The girl stepped away from behind Itachi's back and stood proudly next to him.

"It's only polite to introduce oneself as well… Hoshigaki Kisame," Sakura said calm and _smirked_ right back at him.

'_I'm liking this girl already, good choice Itachi,'_ Kisame thought with a grin. He took a step closer and saw Itachi step closer to Sakura. '_Protective, are we?_' he thought with a smirk, not taking his eyes off of Sakura. The girl never flinched.

"What are you doing within Konoha's borders?" Sakura asked calmly and crossed her arms, she seemed almost relaxed. At least lot more so than his partner currently was, he seemed tense enough to snap.

"Hmmmnnn, I'm looking for my partner. You've seen a runaway weasel around here, Pinky?" Kisame asked and smirked as he saw Sakura's frown at his new nickname as Itachi tensed. She'd better get used to it, they would be seeing a lot of each other once Itachi revealed his identity to his "soon-to-be-wife".

"Can't say that I have, Mr. Gills," it seemed that she gave as good as she got.

"Ooh, you wound me Pinky, right here," he said and patted his chest with a smirk, stealing a glance at Itachi while at it. It seemed that he was as surprised as he at how the encounter was going so far. Clearly he hadn't expected any friendly banter between him and his little girlfriend.

"You missed a spot, a shark's heart is located closer to the gills," Sakura said and patted a spot closer to her neck.

"Aaah, what makes you think these are the only ones that I have?" Kisame asked, a lil disturbed how easily she could tell his weak spot. Sakura just smiled and shrugged.

"Med-nin," this was said with a smirk.

"They still make you practice with fish, don't they," Kisame murmured, getting a positive nod as a reply.

…

This… wasn't going like he thought it would. Sakura and Kisame were actually having a somewhat friendly conversation. He stole a quick glance at Sakura find that she was battle ready, but still mostly relaxed, there was even a tiny smirk there on her face, probably over something that Kisame had said. He looked back at Kisame to find him in a similar position, almost relaxed and smirking. It didn't seem like he was going to give away his secret just yet.

He always did love a good verbal fight, apparently Sakura was keeping him entertained, his secret was safe, for now.

He was thinking on laying down a genjutsu, grabbing Sakura and disappearing, but now it seemed like an awfully bad idea. Better go with a more… careful approach.

"Sakura, we must continue on our mission," yes, that should do just nicely. Even though they weren't in a hurry to reach their destination, Kisame didn't need to know that.

Sakura turned her head to look at him from their banter—something about Kisame eating fish being cannibalism— and nodded.

"We should," she said and turned around to walk the short distance towards the cave to get their backpacks, fully trusting Tachi to cover her back if need be.

Once he was sure Sakura wouldn't hear, he turned back to Kisame. Itachi knew he had questions he was dying to ask, but the glare he sent in Kisame's way must have killed quite a few of those.

"Neeeh, this is the girl?" Kisame asked, half to himself in a quiet voice.

"Hn."

"I see… Leader was asking about you and your… "mission". It's taking a bit too long in his opinion, the one I so kindly did for you," Kisame said quietly with a smirk, glancing in the caves direction to make sure Sakura wouldn't hear.

"Hn."

"I like her, she's good for you," Kisame said finally.

"Aa," Itachi agreed with a barely there smile in his voice.

"Well, I better go, ja ne!" Kisame said, turned around with a wave and placed his hat back on. Itachi was quite sure that he heard something that sounded like "don't take too long on your honeymoon", but Kisame was already too far to tell for sure.

"Did he leave?" Itachi heard Sakura ask as she emerged from the cave with their bags. She got a nod as an answer as she gave Itachi his bag back.

"He's… different from what you learn in bingo books," Sakura said with a laugh.

Itachi looked back at her and Sakura could swear there was something shining in his dark charcoal eyes at that moment. Something that to Sakura looked a lot like…-

"Aren't we all?"

-hope.

…

Hey you all dear readers of mine, I'm back! (Again)

There really isn't much I can say about the lateness of this chapter, except for the fact that life happened…

Unfortunately, that stupid thing seems to happen quite often.

Beta notes;

**N**: Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I've always seen Kisame as an older brother figure for either Itachi or Sakura so this development in relationships/interaction between them is amazing \o/ I hope you have a wonderful winter break and if you have finals, may the odds be ever in your favor. I know how you feel.

**C**: Hey guys. I hope you are all excited for this chapter as I am. I love how Sakura and Kisame interact! I totally agree that Kisame is a perfect big brother role regarding Itachi or Sakura. I got promoted at work and now come home completely exhausted every day. I'm the reason it took so long to get it edited. My bad. I'll try to be more on top of things in the future!

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	15. Chapter 14 The Truth

Chapter 14

_The Truth_

After Kisame left them and the weather cleared, the party of two continued on their journey towards the village, where their target was supposedly located. They traveled mostly in silence much to Itachi's enjoyment, neither wanting to ruin the peaceful atmosphere between them.

Sakura commented on some random things every once in a while: how glad she was that it wasn't raining anymore and how good the forest smelled after the rain.

Itachi didn't mind and hummed at whatever she said, her easy to pleasure nature was very pleasing to him.

"If we run for a bit, we should reach the village before it gets too dark," Sakura murmured in thought and looked up at him in question. Itachi glanced down and nodded. He wanted to spend the night under a roof as the weather seemed to change rather rapidly, if the earlier rain storm was any indication.

"Hn," he grunted, making Sakura giggle at his short reply and set an easy pace for them to travel.

"You know, that grunt you do reminds me a lot of my old teammate. It was so hard to get a sentence out of him, but now that I think about it, it seems kind of funny," Sakura said, lost in the early memories of Team 7. If Sakura had been looking, she would've seen how Itachi almost tripped.

"Is that so?" Tachi asked after clearing his throat.

"Hmm, Naruto and I tried so many times to get him to talk more; we had little success, but he did open up somewhat towards the end," Sakura said.

"May I ask what happened?" Itachi had to act like he didn't know about his brother, as far as Sakura knew, he had been on a long mission away from Konoha. He noticed that it was a difficult subject for the pinkette, but time seemed to have helped with the pain of his brother's betrayal.

"He left, just like that, to gain power to defeat his brother," Sakura said, clearly the memory still left a bitter taste in her mouth. He had been shocked to learn of his brother's move himself, he didn't expect Sasuke to leave his home village to gain powers like he had.

"I... haven't told this anyone, but since Tsunade-sama had been, apparently, grooming me as her follower, which I was NOT aware by the way, and TOTALLY not happy about… I have access to some of the scrolls that are not supposed to be seen by _anyone__'s_ eyes," Sakura started, somewhat skeptical about revealing this to anyone, but it has been bothering her for some time now.

"I was cleaning some important scrolls in the lower parts of the storage rooms, in the area where very few have access to and on accident bumped into one of the shelves. I was just going to clean them away, afraid that someone might see me going over them, but the Third Hokage's seal captured my eye," Sakura told as they walked onwards. Itachi was, at this point, almost afraid to interrupt her, wanting to hear what she had found out.

"The Uchiha had been planning a coup," Sakura said bluntly, making Itachi freeze. Sakura didn't notice, she was in too deep in her thoughts.

"I had to place the scrolls back in their place when I heard someone entering. But afterwards at home, I went over the dates that I managed to see and they fit _perfectly_ before the massacre," Sakura mumbled, Itachi saw that she had been thinking about this for some time now, he could see she was relieved to get it out of her mind.

"It was no simple massacre, they made a _child_ kill his own _family_! Just because they didn't know how to clean up _their own mess_!" Sakura fumed, angry tears shining in her eyes. Her sympathy for the young boy, who lost it all in one night almost overwhelming her motherly nature.

Itachi was speechless, how had she figured it out? Just like that? It had been years and no one was none the wiser and she had figured it all out in_ one day__'__s time_? It was almost downright ridiculous! He was glad it was _him_ who she told this, anyone else and in the worst case, she'd be executed in the spot if the Elders found out.

"Tachi?" Sakura asked, apparently he had stopped their somewhat speedy traveling in his shocked state.

"Sakura, who else have you told?" Tachi asked and took a firm grip on her shoulders, making her look into his eyes. To her, he sounded like he was almost panicking.

"N-no one!" Sakura said, alarmed on how strongly the usually calm man reacted. The angry tears from earlier sliding down her somewhat pale cheeks. Itachi reached his thumbs up to swipe them away, feeling touched that she would shed tears for his ruined childhood.

He placed his hands back in her shoulders after her face was dry from tears.

"Never tell this to anyone in your village, if the Elders find out that you know…" he let it hang, but Sakura got the idea. This was a carefully kept secret and for a reason.

"My… village? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, not missing the fact that he said _hers_, not _theirs_.

"Sakura, promise me," he said firmly, not caring about his slip up in the slightest at that moment. Her safety being the priority in his mind. He only relaxed when Sakura nodded her head, her eyes told him that she understood how important this was.

Only then did he loosen his hold on her shoulders.

"Never let them see that they get to you," he whispered and turned around to continue on their way.

Sakura wondered why he never answered her question.

…

Beta Notes:

Hajimemashite minna-san! (I'm taking a Japanese class so I'm just excited to be able to use what I learned for once hehe) I'm so excited to finally be able to read (and help edit) Courtship. It's been a while. Hopefully you've all been well. Itachi slipped up a bit there, oops! Can't wait to see where this leads!

-Nicole

Hey you all dear readers of mine! (Don't kill me!)

It's so good to be back! I know you have waited forever for this chapter and I'm sorry for that.

As some of you know, I had to have my arm operated twice, so I was in no condition to write in these past… few months? I'm a horrible person!

Please be patient with me!

P.S I apologize for any writing errors, it's been a while since I could last write…

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	16. Chapter 15 Brothers

Chapter 15

_Brothers_

Arriving at their destination took them a bit longer than expected due to the bad weather, but finally did they step into the small village their target was supposed to be in a few days' time. Tachi was to find them an inn to stay while Sakura made sure the target was not in the village yet.

Luckily, the weather has improved and it no longer rained. The sun could be seen peeking between the clouds, making Sakura smile, pleased about the change in weather. She walked around the small village, looking around for the target, but after a while came to the conclusion that they weren't at the village yet.

Sakura decided to turn around and find Tachi, they could always continue later on together, but froze at the feeling of familiar charka. She had not felt it in so long, she had stopped hoping for him to return years ago, but still…

Curiosity got the best of her and with a last glance in the inns direction, she ran towards the woods.

…

The moment he felt his brothers' chakra, Itachi knew that Sakura had felt it too. Sasuke always had had a bad timing, but this was something else, even for him. Sasuke would recognize him as Tachi, this he knew for sure. That boy was obsessed about finding and killing him, even if he himself was to blame for that.

He almost groaned as he felt Sakuras chakra go farther away, towards his brother.

He knew it would happen, he couldn't blame Sakura for wanting to see her old teammate. She was a passionate being. Even if Sasukes betrayal still stung, Itachi knew she still cared in her own way.

Itachi removed his Anbu mask with a small sigh, knowing it would do more harm than good to leave it on.

He would have to go and make sure Sasuke didn't hurt Sakura in his desperation to find him. Not as Tachi though, but as the killer that everyone knew him as.

He made a clone of himself, to leave someone unpack, and gave it his mask. He removed his Anbu gear and took out his regular clothes, the gray shirt with fishnet and plain grey pants. It didn't take him long to change and soon he was pulling his hair into its regular low ponytail and tied on his slashed forehead protector. He didn't have his ring or Akatsuki cloak with him, he had left them behind before going to Konoha, but this would do.

Before leaving he turned on his Sharingan and glanced at the mirror to make sure everything was in place.

Back at him looked not Tachi, but Uchiha Itachi.

…

Finding Sasuke was proving to be quite easy, he was clearly not trying to hide himself from her Sakura noted as she ran towards his chakra. He seemed to be alone, at least there weren't other chakra signatures anywhere nearby. This was a surprise, she had heard that Sasuke had found a new team for himself a while back.

Soon she arrived into a clearing and saw Sasuke standing there, his back facing her.

His clothes had not much changed from the last time, he was still wearing the same blue cloth around his waist, tied there with the purple rope. His white shirt was gone, in its place was a light grey one, this one had short sleeves. His hair was the same chicken nest it has always been, it did look a bit longer from the back though.

"Sasuke…" Sakura didn't know what else to say. She did have a strong itch to punch his face bloody after everything he had done to Naruto, to her, to their home. She was trying to decide if she wanted to punch him or talk to him. Punching him looked like the better idea at the moment.

"Sakura," he said, his voice had gotten deeper. He turned around to face her, his obsidian eyes had remained the same even after all these years, they were still emotionless, black pits.

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked and clenched her hands into fists, ready to attack if he did any sudden movements.

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked instead, his hand going to his sword.

"Where is… what are you talking about?" Sakura asked, her fists relaxing in her confused state.

"Where is Itachi? I saw yo-" Sasuke and Sakura both froze mid-sentence, as they felt a powerful chakra enter the field. They both turned to look at the intruder, only to find none other than Uchiha Itachi.

…

He had made it, luckily, before Sasuke could reveal seeing Sakura in his company. He released his chakra to interrupt them as he entered the field, keeping his face free of emotion.

"Little brother," he said, as was usual of him to do, trying to keep Sasukes attention away from Sakura.

"Sakura, get back," Sasuke said and turned to face him fully, sword already drawn. It looked like Sasuke still had some affection for the pinkette if he didn't want to risk her getting hurt. Sakura didn't listen to him, didn't move, just looked his way calmly.

He was surprised when she looked straight into his eyes, hers free of fear. Sakura knew the truth about the massacre, but for her to face him like no one had dared to do in years… His respect for her went up and he found it hard to tear his eyes away from her, feeling pride at her boldness.

He couldn't contain the small smirk that arose on his lips.

"Stop looking at her! You have no right!" Sasuke yelled and stepped in front of Sakura. It took a lot of willpower not to glare at Sasuke.

He had every right, she was to be his.

She was the one that dared to face him, wasn't afraid of him, saw him as Itachi. She was the one positive thing he had allowed himself to have, his chance at a normal life. And Sasuke, once again, stood in front of his happiness.

His eyes bled into mangekyou.

…

Sakura gulped as she saw Itachis eyes change form. She had heard of his eyes and how deadly they could be, but never had she imagined she'd be seeing them up close herself. It seemed like even Sasuke himself was wary of Itachi in that moment, if his tense shoulders were anything to go by. He knew first hand what those eyes could do.

"Sakura, don't look into his eyes again," Sasuke said quietly, keeping his own eyes at Itachis feet.

Itachi almost laughed out loud, but choose just to smirk instead. Sasuke was such a fool in thinking that he would hurt Sakura willingly. True, he hadn't given a reason for Sasuke to think otherwise, but neither had he given a reason for him to think that he would hurt her. He hadn't done anything when she looked into his eyes earlier. That should say a lot. Then again, Sasuke probably thought that he was just messing around.

After that line of thought, Itachi had the strangest itch to mess with his little brothers head a bit more. Call it a sweet revenge for stepping in front of Sakura right after he got a first clear look of her with his sharingan activated. He would of loved to keep looking at her clear and unblurred image.

So, for once he went with the itch.

He moved his mangekyou lit eyes to look at Sakura over Sasukes shoulder, she was looking at him with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"Foolish little brother, I'm not here for you."

…

Beta Notes: None yet

Seriously, this story has over 76k readers, 202 reviews, 603 followers, 362 favorites and it can be found in 1 community as well!

I don't know how this little piece of my mind could reach so many people, but it has. You people are amazing, you make my day!

Makes me feel guilty not being able to write as much, but rest assured, this story will be finished some day! I know how it will end and I want to get there!

Please be patient with me, my life has been quite hectic and full of surgeries in these past 3 years, getting better has been my priority.

Just know that every comment and well wish means a ton to me!

Cheers!

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


	17. Chapter 16 Disbelief

Chapter 16

_Disbelief_

"Foolish little brother, I'm not here for you."

That simple sentence kept ringing is Sasukes ears. He stood protectively in front of his old teammate, not wanting to give Itachi a chance to take away any more people from his life.

He had taken enough as it was.

He could hear how Sakura gasped, probably out of fear. He couldn't blame her, the sight of Itachis Mangekyou made even him tense.

He knew what it could do to a man.

"Go, I'll distract him," he said, hoping Sakura would take the hint and run. She was nowhere _near_ Itachis level, if it came down to a fight. She would just perish, just like everyone else from his life.

"Too late, little brother," his brother whispered from behind him. Sasuke turned around hastily, but the sight that met his eyes was not one he expected to see.

Itachi had an arm around Sakura, but it wasn't there to hold her down, more like caressing her. He had a kunai at her neck, but it was not touching her skin, it looked to be there only for show as she wasn't even trying to fight back.

"Isn't she beautiful, so delicate, just like her namesake," Itachi whispered and looked into Sasukes eyes as he reached down to place his lips on Sakuras bare neck. Sasuke couldn't breathe, he could only watch as his brother caressed her like a lover would.

"Sakura," Itachi whispered her name like one would a prayer, inhaling her sweet scent like a dying man in need of a breath.

"Release her! You bastard!" Sasuke yelled, but his body just wouldn't move. He was stuck there, forced to watch as his brother touched Sakura. It was then that he heard it, a moan, it made him freeze all over.

"Itachi…" it was so quiet that Sasuke almost missed it.

"Hmm?" Itachi hummed, a small grin working its way onto his lips.

"Please," Sakura gasped, as his brothers hand made its way onto her perky breast.

…

"Why did you place him under a genjutsu?" Sakura asked, she was clearly being careful and he could understand why. But soon she would know that she was in no danger from him, ever. The genjutsu Sasuke was under was a simple one, he had managed to take him by surprise. It would show Sasuke anything, that he was afraid to see at that moment.

"To amuse myself," Itachi said and took the first few steps towards his price and the frozen Sasuke.

Sakura took a few steps back, but stopped as she felt a tree behind her. Itachi almost grinned, but held himself back. That would just frighten her, doing so now would be awfully counterproductive to his ultimate plans.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked sternly, keeping her face carefully neutral.

"To talk." Itachi wanted more than just talk, but he would have to take baby steps with her for now.

"I'm listening."

"But not here," Itachi said with a nod in Sasukes direction. He knew the genjutsu would hold Sasuke down for a few more minutes, but it was not nearly enough for what he had planned. It wouldn't do for his foolish little brother to attack him, when he was busy claiming his prize.

"Wouldn't want anyone to interrupt," Itachi said mostly to himself and stepped in front of Sakura. He could only marvel at her willpower, she wasn't shaking in fear like the rest of them. No, Sakura was facing him like she would face any other opponent.

He had never felt so proud of anyone.

"Very well, but Sasuke remains unharmed." Sakura said and crossed her arms in defiance, there was a cute little frown on her pink lips. It almost made him chuckle.

"Hn." His plans were only for her after all.

He held out a hand for her, not sure if she would take it. Imagine his surprise as she placed her small hand slowly onto his bigger one. Her hands were cold, but he denied himself the pleasure to press his other hand over hers in hopes of warming it. But he did close his hand around hers, hoping to warm the small appendage in his hold.

He pulled her closer to teleport them to a safer location, not giving her time to pull away.

…

Sakura knew it was stupid of her, idiotic really, but it seemed like the only way to keep Sasuke safe. There was no love lost between her and her old teammate, but she didn't want him dead. Naruto would be devastated.

Itachi didn't seem to be in a mood to fight, luckily, and talking she could manage, if it meant that Sasuke remained unharmed. She could always introduce her right hook to Sasukes face later, if she made it out alive.

"Why did you place him under a genjutsu?" Sakura asked, hoping it wouldn't anger him. Doing so would be really bad for her health.

She had suspected that Itachi had used a genjutsu on Sasuke after telling him that "he was not there for him", but after Sasuke remained still and stared off into the distance for a full thirty seconds, Sakura was quite sure of it.

"To amuse myself," Itachi said and took a step closer.

To keep a safe distance, Sakura took a few steps back. She almost gulped as she felt a tree stop her further retreat. She didn't want to put Sasuke in danger by attacking Itachi, not if there was another way. The clearing was too small for her to use her powers effectively without hurting Sasuke in the process.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked, her voice gaining some of its usual strength in her need to protect her old teammate. She was still being mindful of how she talked, it wouldn't do to anger _the_ Uchiha Itachi. She was nowhere near his league, would he decide to attack, so better play it as safe as possible, right?

"To talk."

That wasn't too reassuring. Sakura knew that Akatsuki was still after Naruto and using her as the bait seemed like a logical choice to make. Sakura just hoped Itachi wasn't there because of _that_. Saving Sasuke wasn't worth the risk of placing Naruto in danger.

"I'm listening." Sakura said, hoping to play it safe.

"But not here," Itachi said with a nod in Sasukes direction. Sakura did see that one coming, Sasuke was sure to attack as soon as he broke out of the genjutsu he was under. There was no talking or reasoning with the younger Uchiha when he snapped, Sakura couldn't trust him to not attack her as well.

With a few more quick steps, he was in front of her. He looked at her for a moment, as if thinking what to do next. Sakura couldn't read his eyes, but they seemed calm enough to make her own little demand.

"Very well, but Sasuke remains unharmed." Sakura said and crossed her arms. Sakura could see a ghost of a grin on his lips, the sight of it almost giving her a stroke. No matter if he was a double agent or not, if a man as dangerous as Itachi grinned, there was a massacre on its way.

There was a pun somewhere in there.

"Hn."

That seemed like an okay, her "Language of the Uchihas" was a bit rusty.

Sakura almost flinched away from him as he raised his arm, but relaxed when he didn't attack. He held it out calmly, as if expecting her to take it. His red eyes looked at her, looking almost peaceful, telling her that it was her turn to act.

Sakura thought about the risks, there were quite a few. It seemed like Itachi really just wanted to talk, he had always seemed like an honest man. More so now that Sakura knew about the massacre and how Itachi was not to blame for any of it. Getting over the chock had taken her a few days and she had been really wary of the Elders lately. Every time they looked her way, Sakura felt like they _knew_.

So yes, she felt like she could trust Itachi, in some cases even more so than her own village.

She placed her hand gently on top of his larger one, a gasp escaping her lips as she was pulled into a firm, warm chest. She was just going to protest how he was manhandling her, when she felt his chakra rise.

They left the clearing in a scattering of crows, just as Sasuke broke out of his genjutsu.

…

Beta Notes: None yet

I have been rereading this story and trying to clean it up a little.

I found so many mistakes and errors it almost made me want to rewrite the whole thing. But as one of my first stories written in English, I'm glad most of you ignore most of my errors. I'll clean them up when I have the time, some chapters are already ready.

And thank you for so many 'get well wishes'! Makes me want to hug the lot of you!

P.S.

Yes yes, I am aware that those last two parts are similar, but the reason for that is quite simple: I wanted to show you both of their feelings and not mix them up in one piece. I did clean it up some to be fair.

Simply put, deal with it.

Cheers!

And as always, thank you for reading and have a nice day!

R&amp;R

TY

-Hana


End file.
